Former Sport England CEO to become Scouts chair

The Scouts have announced that Jennie Price, the former chief executive of Sport England, will become its next chair of its trustees.

Price led Sport England for more than a decade, between 2007 and 2018, and will join the Scouts in September this year. She joins from the Youth United Foundation, the network of uniformed youth organisations, where she is independent chair.

During her time at Sport England, Price led the This Girl Can campaign to encourage 2.8m girls and women to be more active.

Price’s other roles include chairing the International Tennis Integrity Agency as well as sitting on the board of the Canal and River Trust and being a Forestry Commissioner.

“I am passionate about supporting young people and have been privileged to work on this in my roles at Youth United and Sport England,” said Price, who will chair the Scouts’ 15-strong trustee board.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Scouts as Chair of the Board because of the difference Scouts makes to the lives of thousands of young people across the country and its ambition to grow and diversify its membership. I am looking forward to working with the trustees to ensure Scouting is accessible for everyone.”

Meanwhile, the Scouts has announced that chair of the West Lancashire Scouts Carl Hankinson is to take on the voluntary role of UK Chief Commissioner. This role involves leading the organisation’s 163,000 adult volunteers.

Helping young people amid the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery is a priority for Hankinson.

“The pandemic has hit some communities really hard and so many Scout volunteers have gone above and beyond to support young people through a very difficult time,” he said.

“As we rebuild in the coming years we have a real opportunity to help more young people, from all backgrounds, especially in those communities worst affected by the pandemic.”

Scout Association chief executive Matt Hyde added: “Everyone in Scouts is looking forward to welcoming Jennie as our new Chair and Carl as our new UK Chief Commissioner.

“Carl and Jennie are joining The Scouts at a pivotal time when we need to rebuild after the Covid pandemic. I am confident their experience and knowledge will help us meet this challenge.”

“Price replaces current chair, Ann Limb , while Hankinson replaces current UK Chief Commissioner, Tim Kidd.

Last November the Scouts announced plans to cut 30% of its workforce and sell off buildings to meet Covid-19 losses.