2026 AGM - Agenda Item (e) Fixing of membership fees

The Board of Mountaineering Scotland is committed to ensuring that membership remains affordable whilst maintaining the financial sustainability of the organisation and continuing to deliver the wide range of services, benefits and representation that members expect.

Like many organisations, Mountaineering Scotland continues to face increasing operating costs across a range of areas including staff costs, digital systems, governance requirements, utilities, and the delivery of services and projects on behalf of members. One of the most significant cost pressures in recent years has been the cost of insurance cover. Over the past six years, insurance costs have risen substantially, reflecting wider market conditions and a reduced appetite amongst insurers to provide cover for outdoor recreation activities. The cost of insurance has increased by 191% during this period, making it one of the organisation's largest expenditure areas after staffing costs.

Recognising the importance of insurance cover to members and affiliated clubs, the Board undertook a comprehensive review of insurance provision and renewal options. Working closely with our insurance broker, Howden, and after extensive negotiations with insurers, Mountaineering Scotland has now successfully completed its insurance renewal and secured a new agreement.

The outcome of the renewal process is significantly better than had been anticipated when the Board first considered membership fees for 2027/28 and will deliver a saving of £19,615 or 12.8% per annum on our current costs. This saving has also been fixed for three years in a new long-term arrangement providing greater certainty over future insurance costs compared with the increases that had been originally forecast.

It should be noted that we are in the 2nd year of our 4-year investment agreement with sportscotland, and although we have received an uplift this financial year to support increasing core costs, our working assumption is this will remain flat for the next two years.  In our financial forecasting we anticipate that costs will continue to rise and offset the insurance savings which have been secured.  The Board has also set a strategic objective to secure the financial sustainability of the organisation with the target of delivering a year-on-year surplus position.

Given this background, the Board is pleased to recommend that any increase in membership fees should be limited to inflation. 

In line with last year the proposed increase is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate for June 2026 of 2.6% and will take effect from 1 April 2027.