2023-03-31-accounts

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Trustees

Dr Robert Adam Elected Chair from 6th November 2022. Trustee term commenced 26th June 2021 Abigail Gorman Elected Vice-Chair from 6th November 2022. Term commenced 6th November 2022 Jonathan Evans Hon Treasurer from 6th November 2022 Hamza Shaikh Term commenced 6th November 2022 ns Sabina Iqbal Co-opted 6th November 2022 Ahmed Mudawi Co-opted 11th January 2023 ~~Bin~~ Departing Trustees during 2021-22 David Buxton (Chair) Term ended 5th November 2022 Lesley Davidson (Vice Chair) Term ended 5th November 2022 John Carberry Term ended 5th November 2022and Report Company number: 2881497 Charity number: 1031687 Financial Scottish Charity number: SCO42409 St. John’s Deaf Community Centre, 258 Green Lanes, London, N4 2HE atements Chief Executive: Rebecca Mansell For the year ended 31st March 2023 Bankers:

HSBC Bank plc, 29 English Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8JX

Solicitors: Auditors:

Burnetts, Victoria House, Wavell Drive, Rosehill Industrial Estate, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 2ST Price Bailey LLP, 24 Old Bond Street, London, W1S 4AP

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Company limited by guarantee number 2881497 Registered charity number 1031687 (England and Wales) and SC042409 (Scotland)

Reference and Administrative Information	3
Trustees’ Annual Report
Who we are A	4
Welcome A	8
Our Work A	13
Financial Review A	39
Thank you to our funders A	42
Structure, Governance and Management A	43
Statement of Responsibilities of the Trustees A	44
Statement as to Disclosure to our Auditors A	45
Independent Auditors’ Report	46
Statement of Financial Activities	53
(incorporating an income and expenditure account)
Balance Sheet	54
Statement of Cash Flows	55
Notes to the Financial Statements	56

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Trustees

Departing Trustees during 2022-23

David Buxton OBE (Chair) Term ended 5th November 2022 Lesley Davidson (Vice Chair) Term ended 5th November 2022 John Carberry Term ended 5th November 2022 Company number: 2881497 Charity number: 1031687 Scottish Charity number: SCO42409 �� St. John’s Deaf Community Centre, 258 Green Lanes, London, N4 2HE Chief Executive: Rebecca Mansell Bankers: HSBC Bank plc, 29 English Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8JX Solicitors: Burnetts, Victoria House, Wavell Drive, Rosehill Industrial Estate, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 2ST Auditors: Price Bailey LLP, 24 Old Bond Street, London, W1S 4AP

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Trustees’ Annual Report 2022-23

the year 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023.

Who we are

representative organisation of British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL) and has been an Ordinary Member of the World Federation of the Deaf (a United Nations consultative organisation) since 1957 and a member of the European Union of the Deaf (a participatory member of the Council of Europe) since its foundation in 1985; and within other international organisations.

As a Deaf-led membership charity, led and represented by Deaf people for Deaf people, we campaign on a national level for equal rights to fully participate and contribute to society as equal and valued citizens. We also work at a local level advocating and empowering Deaf people to achieve access to their local public services. As the national guardians of BSL and ISL, we exist to ensure a world in which the language, culture, community, diversity and heritage of Deaf people in the UK is respected and fully protected for future generations.

We promote the advancement of human rights and equality for Deaf people by collaborating with

UK, around 87,000 who are Deaf and for whom English may be a second or third language.

The BDA was instrumental in securing the BSL Act in April 2022, meaning that BSL is now legally recognised as a language of England, Wales and Scotland. This was seismic and we are determined that it will lead to Deaf people, marginalised for so long, participating and contributing as equal and valued citizens in British society.

We also campaign on behalf of Irish Sign Language (ISL) users in Northern Ireland and hope to use our success with the BSL Act as leverage for a similar Act in Northern Ireland.

We recognise the importance of building and learning from our links with other Deaf communities outside the UK, particularly for our BDA Youth members, in order to help them expand their knowledge and understanding and to see themselves within the context of the international signing community. They do this by developing skills, working for change, and strengthening the cause and community of Deaf people worldwide.

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The BDA stands for D eaf E quality, A ccess, and F reedom of choice:

DEAF – That we identify ourselves as Deaf people who use sign language. Part of the Deaf community, we – Deaf adults and children alike – share the same language, values, history and cultural experiences.

EQUALITY – That we Deaf people are treated equally, with every opportunity for learning, social, work, leisure and community inclusion.

ACCESS – That, through the provision of sign language, we are able to access services and support on a par with others.

FREEDOM OF CHOICE – That, through sign language, we are empowered with choices to participate, contribute, learn, and work in the same way as others.

Our VISION is of a world where Deaf people can fully participate and contribute to society as equal and valued citizens.

Our MISSION is to empower Deaf people to fully participate and contribute to society as equal and valued citizens and to build a world in which the languages, culture and heritage of Deaf people in the UK are protected, preserved and promoted.

Our VALUES : The BDA is a Deaf people’s organisation representing a diverse, vibrant and ever-changing community of Deaf people. Our activities, promotions, and partnerships with other organisations aim to empower our community towards full participation and contribution as equal and valued citizens in the wider society.

1. Protecting our Deaf culture and Identity – we value Deaf peoples’ sense of Deaf culture and identity derived from belonging to a cultural and linguistic group, sharing similar beliefs and experiences with a sense of belonging,

2. Asserting our linguistic rights – we value the use of BSL as a human right. As such, BSL must be preserved, protected and promoted because we also value the right of Deaf

3. Fostering our community – we value Deaf people with diverse perspectives, experiences and abilities. We are committed to equality and the elimination of all forms of discrimination with a special focus on those affecting Deaf people and their language.

4. Achieving equality in legal, civil and human rights – we value universal human rights such as the right to receive education and access to information in sign language, and freedom from political restrictions on our opportunities to become full citizens.

5. Developing our alliance – we value those who support us and are our allies because they share our vision and mission, and support our BSL community.

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Protecting our Deaf culture and
Developing our alliance – we Identity – we value Deaf peoples’
value those who support us and are sense of Deaf culture and identity
our allies because they share our vision derived from belonging to a cultural
and mission, and support our signing and linguistic group, sharing similar
community. beliefs and experiences with a sense of
belonging.
Alliance Heritage
Fostering our community –
Empower our community towards we value Deaf people with diverse
full participation and contribution perspectives, experiences and abilities.
wider society through advocacy and as equal and valued citizens in the Inclusion Community We are committed to equality and the elimination of all forms of discrimination
workshops. D) with a special focus on those affecting
Deaf people and their language.
Achieving equality in legal, We aim to act as guardians of
civil and human rights – we value Equality Language BSL and ISL .
universal human rights such as the
right to receive education and access We believe parents of deaf children should
to information in sign language, and be given choices and information
freedom from political restrictions on our Rights about sign language, bilingualism and
opportunities to become full citizens. access to the Deaf community.
Asserting our linguistic rights – we value the use of BSL/ISL The BDA stands for
as a human right. As such, BSL/ISL must be preserved, protected
and promoted because we also value the right of Deaf people to Deaf Equality, Access and
use their first or preferred language. Freedom of Choice
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The BDA has been an Ordinary Member of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) since September 1957, and a Full (and founding) Member of the European Union of the Deaf (EUD) since 1985.

Organisation), ILO (International Labour Organisation), WHO (World Health Organisation) and the Council of Europe (CoE). It also has a consultative status in the United Nations (UN) and is a founding member of the International Disability Alliance (IDA).

EUD is a supranational organisation representing Deaf people at European level and is one of the few ENGOs representing associations from all of the 27 EU Member States, in addition to Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. EUD aims to establish and maintain EU

its member national associations of the Deaf (NADs). EUD is a full member of the European Disability Forum (EDF) and is a Regional Co-operating Member of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) to tackle issues of global importance. It also has participatory status with the Council of Europe (CoE).

The BDA remains a permanent member of EUD; the UK’s withdrawal from the EU has had no impact on BDA’s membership of the EUD, which is not limited to member states of the European Union.

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BDA Youth , a committee of the BDA which represents young Deaf people across the UK is a member of the World Federation of the Deaf Youth Section (WFDYS), and European Union of the Deaf Youth (EUDY).

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted by the UN General

in the UN legal system.

The motto of the CRPD, “ Nothing About Us Without Us ”, places persons with disabilities, including Deaf people, and their representative organisations - national associations of Deaf people – at the forefront of the decision-making processes related to them.

CRPD Article 4.3 requires national governments to actively consult and collaborate with national representative associations of Deaf people regarding any legislation, programme or

Representative Organisation of the UK representing the Deaf and BSL/ISL community, and holds this status at WFD, WFDYS, EUD and EUDY.

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As I have always been concerned about the rights of deaf people everywhere, | became Chair of the BDA this financial year. | would like to work towards enabling the BDA to deliver even more for our language rights. As the national representative organisation of people who use BSL/ISL, we are best placed to enhance the lives of Deaf people through our influencing and advocacy activities, and through our services and programmes we and our network of local, national and international partners provide.

recognised British Sign Language (BSL), our language, with the BSL Act 2022. The former Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Chloe Smith MP, said on the day the BSL Bill received Royal Assent:

Today is a momentous day and I truly hope it will transform the lives of Deaf people across the country. “ The BSL Act will help remove barriers faced by the Deaf community in daily life and is a further welcome step towards a more inclusive and accessible society. Former Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Chloe Smith MP ”

The BSL Act Now! campaign was led by the British Deaf Association, working in collaboration with other Deaf organisations: Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD), Signature, Institute of British Sign Language (iBSL), SignHealth, National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD), and Black Deaf UK. These organisations represented the diversity of the Deaf community in the UK. Together, we successfully campaigned for the BSL Act 2022 which came into force on Tuesday 28th June 2022 after receiving Royal Assent on 28th April by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This date, 28th April, will now be celebrated annually as National BSL Day .

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The Act will create greater recognition and understanding of BSL as well as inclusion and equality for BSL users by:

egally recognising BSL as a language of England, Wales, and Scotland;

equiring UK government departments to report on how they are promoting and facilitating the use of BSL;

roviding guidance to government departments and public bodies on how to meet the needs

Now that we have the BSL Act 2022, we will continue working with Deaf organisations, through the newly-formed BSL Alliance, to ensure that the UK Government meets their commitment to implement the Act. This includes:

racking the progress of the non-statutory BSL Advisory Board, where representatives of the BSL community will advise the Government on making public services more accessible for BSL users;

Increasing the number of registered sign language interpreters;

Improving Access to Work provision for both claimants and employers.

Timeline of the BSL Act

18th March 2003

promises to investigate a legal status for BSL.

March 2004

minority languages in Northern Ireland.

22nd October 2015

The Scottish Parliament passed the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 on 17 September 2015 and received Royal Assent on 22 October 2015.

18th March 2021 BDA launches the BSL Act Now! campaign with support from across the sector.

16th June 2021 The BSL Bill is introduced into the House of Commons by Labour MP Rosie Cooper. Rosie has Deaf parents and considers BSL her BSL users face. 18th March 2022 An estimated 5,000 people attend a rally in Trafalgar Square, London, as the Bill completes its passage through the House of Commons unopposed. first language. She is well placed to understand the barriersthat 27th April 2022 The Bill completes its passage through the House of Lords unopposed, set to become law.

28th April 2022 The BSL Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes the British Sign Language (BSL) Act 2022.

The BSL Act 2022 comes into force.

28th April 2022 28th June 2022 “y

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Rosie Cooper MP was the 20th MP drawn from the Private Members Bill ballot. This was truly

subsequently passed into law unopposed in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Now it is time to take this legacy forward.

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What happens next?

The BDA’s mission is to Preserve, Protect and Promote BSL. We will closely track the implementation of the BSL Act. We have established a BSL Alliance (www.bslalliance.org.uk), made up of national, regional and local organisations across Great Britain, whose role is to engage with the non-statutory BSL Advisory Board.

The BSL Act recognises BSL in England, Wales and Scotland. As equality law OR CLICK HERE is devolved in Northern Ireland, the BSL Act 2022 does not apply there, as both British and Irish Sign Language are used among the Northern Irish Deaf community. While

for the introduction of Northern Ireland’s BSL and ISL Bill. We look forward to the developments which will consolidate the position of both these sign languages in Northern Ireland.

In Spring 2022, while the BSL Bill was making its way through Parliament, we launched a nationwide six-month consultation of BDA members. We hosted 10 virtual roundtable events

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across the UK where we heard from 132 Deaf people, members and stakeholders about what they need from the BDA. What came out strongly during our discussions was that the most important thing was not what we do, but who we are.

Again and again, respondents told us they saw the BDA as the only national organisation making the connection between Deaf human rights, Deaf identity and sign language. They felt represented by the BDA. They said that the BSL Rally we organised in Trafalgar Square in March 2022 to show Parliament our support for the BSL Act had reminded them who the BDA is, why the BDA exists, and why it still needs to be here. The BDA is the Deaf community. Roundtable participant, 2022 ” “ Across the diverse Deaf communities in the UK, there is a shared ambition that the BSL Act 2022 will serve as a turning point to bring about social change and dismantle the barriers that have restricted Deaf people’s lives for more than 130 years, ever since the BDA was established.

While we would have liked to see an even more robust Act with new, explicit rights for BSL users, the passage of the BSL Act nevertheless provides a valuable and timely opportunity for us to engage with Government on issues of crucial importance to Deaf people as a linguistic and cultural minority, and co-produce policies that will lead to positive change.

The hard work starts now: we must engage with members, new and current partners, stakeholders and allies, in particular the new BSL Alliance – made up of Deaf organisations across the country – to track and support the implementation of the Act. We will seek to make the most of the opportunities presented, in combination with existing relevant UK-wide legislation, international instruments and guidance such as the Human Rights Act (1998), the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), the Equality Act (2010), the Care Act (2014), the NHS Accessible Information Standard (2016) and any other legislations.

Our draft Strategic Vision sets out the BDA’s aspirations for Deaf people in the UK for the next decade and beyond, following the historic legal recognition of our language with the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 and the BSL Act (2022).

We must seize this opportunity to prepare the ground for the world we want, promote the ��

�� the year. This is due to the sterling effort of staff and the fundraising team. This position has enabled us to embed plans for the future, to allow us to achieve the outcomes outlined in the draft strategy following our extensive consultations with members during the Spring of 2022.

�� national organisation of just 20 staff, along with the Board, sessional staff including mentors, sign language tutors, befrienders and outreach workers helped deliver some of our project

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work and, as members of the Deaf community who know and appreciate the value of the BDA for their peers, they fully engaged with our work and ethos. Their contribution has been invaluable.

I hope this report provides an interesting and informative overview of the BDA’s work during 2022-23. I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our staff, volunteers, funders, members, and colleagues on the Board of Trustees for their generosity and hard work in continuing to make a big difference for our Deaf community in the UK.

Dr Robert Adam Chair

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This year we devoted time to listen to our members, stakeholders and allies, including other Deaf organisations, to shape the future of the BDA’s work.

The 10-year draft Strategic Vision takes its starting point as the date in which the BSL Act received Royal Assent: 28 April 2022. That date will now be celebrated annually as National BSL Day .

The Strategic Vision sets out the British Deaf Association’s 10-year vision for a new civil rights movement: #BSL2032 . Over the next decade, the Deaf communities in the UK must take ownership of our own future as a linguistic and cultural minority that has been oppressed and discriminated against for centuries.

Language is at the heart of what it means to be human. To be able to express ourselves, share information, and build relationships, every human needs a strong language foundation. Deaf people continue to be deprived of that basic human right in 2023. It is high time for this to change.

We must work collectively with the Deaf communities across the UK and our partners, stakeholders and allies to seize the historic opportunity presented by which the BSL Act 2022 and prepare the ground for the world we want, one in Deaf people can finally achieve equitable civil rights and our precious ~~Fo~~ language and culture will be recognised, included and celebrated.

The following highlights some of the key services and achievements of the BDA during the year 2022-2023, which we will refer to as Year Zero of the 10-year period from 28 April 2022 to 28 April 2032.

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Passing the BSL Act 2022 is the absolute pinnacle and highlight of our work during 2022-2023,

The campaign for a BSL Act was, naturally, conducted in sign language. Sign language is central to the lives of the BDA and its members. Following the legal recognition of BSL, the BDA focused our campaigns around the theme of: ‘Protect, Preserve and Promote BSL’.

During 2022 – 2023, our key campaign highlights included:

Protecting BSL

1. BSL came under threat from growth in the online presence of communication systems such as Signalong, Makaton and Baby Signs, who claimed their programmes were “languages” but are

created by hearing people using “sign supported communication systems” or “language programmes” that incorporate signs alongside speech, caused anger and distress among the Deaf community and confusion among the hearing population. BDA responded by publishing a statement highlighting the risks to our language, BSL, and encouraging people to learn BSL

See

Hear to discuss this issue and also met with the CEO of the Makaton Charity who agreed we needed to work together to address their messaging. This work is ongoing.

2. To accompany the release of his song, Die of a Broken Heart , popstar Olly Murs posted an Instagram video in which he signed along to the song. Dedicated to “his fans in the Deaf community”, the clip was incorrectly labelled as being in “Sign” and “BSL SSE”. There is

communicate in sign language. There are many different sign languages around the world. In the UK, Deaf people predominantly use British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language

him in a form of SSE, which is not a language, but a communication system that uses signs (some of which were taken from BSL and some of which were created by hearing people and are unintelligible to Deaf people) alongside spoken English, as well as symbols and pictures. The BDA published a statement. Olly agreed to take down the video and apologised. We continue to work with the Makaton Charity on British Deaf Association its messaging about sign languages.

3. The BDA’s annual campaign, Sign Language Week, ran from 13th – 19th March 2023, aimed to celebrate and promote BSL and ISL across the UK and protect and preserve our language for future generations. This year’s theme was “Protecting BSL” and our campaigned aimed to encourage people to discover more about BSL, spread the word and learn a bit themselves.

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number of threats to its continued existence, including systemic audism (discrimination towards Deaf people) in public services including early years, education, health and social care, ignorance of the long-term damaging effects of language deprivation

among Deaf children and young people, the lack of availability of WAAL eo affordable BSL lessons for the hearing families of Deaf children ~ and hearing people interested in learning BSL, and the spread of . y artificial sign systems such as Makaton, Signalong and Baby Signs, which are a threat to the longevity of our language.

During Sign Language Week, we also launched ‘ Become a BSL Ally ’ campaign, encouraging the British public to introduce themselves to BSL. Our aim was to mobilise a movement of BSL allies amongst the general public, who appreciate our unique language and can help support our long-term mission to break down communication barriers.

The campaign achieved impressive results, with just under a million impressions on social media. An incredible 11,000 BSL taster sessions were delivered on the Sign Language Week website. A total of 2,970 BSL

signatures for free BSL lessons were gathered during the campaign.

We would like to thank the following Deaf ambassadors who helped us to drive forward this campaign: Hermon and Heroda (Being Her), Yvonne Cobb and Jazzy Whipps.

4. On the 6th of February 2023, Chief Executive Rebecca Mansell, Policy & Research Lead Tom Lichy, and PR & Communications Consultant Lauren Harris met Tom Pursglove MP, the Minister for Disabled People, at the Department for Work & Pensions. A fruitful meeting ensued, which covered the implementation of the BSL Act, the role of the new BSL Advisory Board, the ongoing development of a BSL GCSE, the provision of BSL lessons to the families of Deaf children, and the Minister’s ambitions for supporting Deaf people via the Access to Work programme. We invited the Minister to present the keynote address at the BSL Conference

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5. BSL GCSE

In Spring 2022, the BDA teamed up with NDCS and Signature to support plans for the development of a BSL GCSE. The BDA’s position is clear:

As the Department of Education was planning a consultation into the GCSE, we planned a dual approach:

robust expert response to the technical elements of the GCSE consultation, and show of interest in the BSL GCSE amongst deaf and hearing young people to demonstrate

We also launched the following activities to gather support for the BSL GCSE:

eleasing a short survey / sign-up form to measure interest in the GCSE campaign and to allow us to share future campaign actions / updates;

howcasing case studies of schools that already teach BSL to Deaf and hearing young people; joint consultation response addressing the technical consultation;

audiences;

series of social media posts to encourage people to take part in the consultation.

6. Katie’s campaign – Free BSL classes for all families with deaf children

Katie Littlejohns, the parent of a deaf child, started a campaign calling on the Government to fund free BSL classes for all families with deaf children. This was based around a Parliamentary petition, but also featured support from MPs and widespread media coverage.

The BDA and NDCS have offered their support and guidance to help Katie’s campaign. Families shouldn’t

have automatic, easy and free access to classes, no matter where they live in the country.

The petition reached an impressive 25,000 signatures. We are now taking the campaign forward to the next phase.

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Preserving BSL

1. Following our engagement with the UK Census team and Royal

Association for Deaf People (RAD) to make the national Census more accessible, we were pleased that the ~~ee~~ 2021 Census managed to reach and count more Deaf BSL signers in England and Wales, with an increase of nearly 50% in overall numbers since 2011. However, we believe there is still work to be done to obtain an accurate picture of the UK’s BSL population.

2. e hosted the first-ever national BSL Conference, attended by 330 people, in London on Friday 17th March 2023, following the passage into law of the British Sign Language (BSL) Act on 28th April 2022. The inaugural BSL Conference launched the BSL Alliance and shared an ambitious 10-year draft strategic vision for the Deaf community, taking the BSL Act as its starting point.

We were delighted with how the Conference went and we received an absolute deluge of positive feedback from participants, from the quality of the speakers and the range of the topics covered, to the ambition of our draft 10-year Strategic Vision, Taking BSL Forward , to deliver a good quality of life for every Deaf person in the UK.

We were pleased to see Minister Pursglove’s announcement of appointees to the BSL Advisory Board and eagerly anticipated news of their progress towards the goals set out in the BSL Act. We shared plans for an independent BSL Alliance, to join the dots between organisations across Britain who focus on BSL and the signing Deaf community, to harness their collective lobbying power and utilise the network they represent to amass evidence about the lived experiences of BSL users around the country. The aim is for the BSL Alliance to work with the Advisory Board to ensure that the views of the UK’s diverse Deaf communities are fully represented as the Government moves forward. At the time of the BSL Conference, 25 Deaf organisations from across the UK had already joined the independent BSL Alliance, with the numbers continuing to grow since.

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Our heartfelt thanks to our amazing presenters for kicking off the inaugural BSL Conference (see list below). We look forward to next year’s Conference to maintain momentum behind the Deaf community’s powerful movement to take BSL forward.

Thank you to our Headline Sponsor:

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Promoting BSL

1. We launched a series of member newsletters, in both BSL and English, published every four months following feedback from members who wanted to hear more from the BDA about our work. If you would like to stay informed about our work, you can join the BDA as a member.

2. BDA Scotland hosted Your Views: BSL National Plan 2017–2023 in Glasgow on 14th October 2022 The event was attended by representatives from Councils and NHS services as well as Deaf community members. Many highlighted positive examples of good practices across Scotland where Deaf people are working collaboratively with Public Services.

3. The BDA won a series of awards for the BSL Act Now! campaign:

a. Scope Disability Equality Awards – October 2022 This award recognises a campaign that made an impact on the lives of disabled people. This campaign had a national focus and achieved change on disability equality.

b. Signature Hall of Fame – November 2022 Our former Chair, David Buxton, was awarded a place on the Hall of Fame for his work on the BSL Act Now! campaign.

c. Sense Awards – November ae ~~=~~ 2022. The BDA picked up the award for Campaigner of the ‘fe “ Year for our work on the BSL ic Act Now! campaign.

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4. We teamed up with Signature during Sign Language Week 2023 to launch the largest online BSL lesson ever delivered to primary schools in the UK. This pilot campaign was incredibly successful, and we were overwhelmed by the positive response this campaign generated:

,318 schools from across the UK took part;

school from Gibraltar took part; 37,806 pupils joined the lesson;

2,000 engagements across social media on posts relating to the BSL lesson.

Some feedback:

- Queens Chapel Nursery

- Whitehall School

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5. During the 2022 AGM, the BDA honoured David Buxton OBE, Rose Ayling-Ellis and Rosie Cooper with a BDA Medal of Honour for their services promoting BSL. The Medal of

contribution towards the development of the Deaf community, either in Britain or abroad.

Other 2023 recipients included:

6. Ahmed Mudawi ,

1. Linda Richards , Chair’s Award

2. Lesley Davidson , Chair’s Award

7. Bronwynne Buxton ,

3. Gloria Pullen , Chair’s Award

4. Rubenna Aurangzeb-Tariq , Frances Maginn Award

5. Memnos Costi , Frances Maginn Award

8. Clare Cummings ,

9. Kibra Taye Wolde Medhin

Congratulations to all recipients and thank you for all your support.

6. BDA was delighted to host a celebratory party to welcome the #999BSL app launch by @999BSL SignVideo. We are grateful to SignHealth for providing us with a grant to host the event. Over 100 members of the Deaf community and schools attended the event at St John’s Deaf Community Centre. Access to emergency services in BSL will save lives and remove another barrier to good health and wellbeing for Deaf people. The 999 BSL Emergency Video Relay Service (VRS) app is available to download at 999bsl.co.uk.

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Our team behind the campaigns

We are very proud of the campaigns launched during 2022–23 and the hard work of the Visual Language Service (VLS) team which consists of three staff (covering the equivalent of two full-time posts), supported by an external PR consultant and a communications agency during Sign Language Week.

As our working language is BSL, it is vital that our news is accessible

producing BSL videos with voiceovers, transcripts and/or subtitles. It is worth bearing in mind that our campaigns are therefore expensive and take us longer to release than English-only communications.

Over the year, 365 videos were produced, and 20 livestreams were hosted by the whole of the organisation, reaching over 2 million views in total. Campaign and information videos about the BSL Act were undoubtedly a major “must-watch” and contributed to the increase in viewing

In addition, the VLS team supported their colleagues in the organisation with their own work in providing BSL (and in Northern Ireland, both BSL and ISL) videos of activities and project work, as well as with the production of reports, and videos relating to the pandemic and associated government regulations and restrictions, thus ensuring that Deaf people had access to crucial and accurate information in sign language.

Last but not least, the VLS team is regularly commissioned by the private and public sectors to produce BSL videos, host livestreams and provide other chargeable media services.

VISUAL LANGUAGE PRODUCTIONS

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Our Work: Heritage of BSL

Archiving BSL materials

To assist our Heritage work, £20,000 was transferred from unreserved legacy funds to support our ongoing work to digitise VHS tapes and transcribe 12 audio cassettes for storage in the SHARE archive. This is still ongoing.

Languages Capital Fund programme

– ended July 2022

Awarded as part of the Covid-19 Recovery Programme, this funding was significant in terms of enabling us to bring in resources to the Northern Ireland office, and to develop a Deaf Culture Archive of the many videos, photographs and documents we uncovered in our old premises, which have now been digitised.

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Community

BBC Children in Need, Black Country – ended October 2022

Children in Need funded the delivery of 1:1 support and advice to several Deaf young people in the Black Country area by trained Deaf mentors who worked via Zoom or face-to-face. In addition, the BDA organised six activities benefitting 20 young Deaf people who met regularly along with their mentors. The project has now concluded.

Cost of Living Crisis funded by SEGB (Smart Energy) – ended December 2022

The successful provision of information regarding the cost-of-living crisis, funded by The Smart Energy GB. project came to an end. In total, we visited 24 Deaf community groups and events to discuss or host a stall to raise awareness and provide vital information to address the cost-of-living crisis. We met over 610 Deaf people across England in places such as Margate, Ashford, Watford, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Bexhill, Stratford, Ipswich, Gravesend, WestonSuper Mare, King’s Lynn, Brighton, Romford, Beckenham, Hemel Hempstead, Hereford, Worcester, Bristol, Worthing and Cambridge.

Feedback received from the Deaf community, including their experiences as consumers, and queries over what their rights are when it comes to contacting their gas or electricity companies in regard to the cost-of-living crisis, was shared with the UK Government via livestreamed interviews with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and National Energy Action (NEA). The BDA would like to thank Smart Energy GB for investing in this project.

Bringing Our Community Together – started January 2023

We secured funding from Scope, a charity for equality for disabled people, to enable us to bring our community together following the Covid-19 pandemic which saw our community become increasingly isolated. We will visit clubs, community groups, schools and organisations across England, as well as host livestreamed events. We will share information on raising awareness of loneliness and how to reduce loneliness in our community.

Loneliness in our society is so prevalent that it is now called an epidemic and has become

not being physically alone. The shift towards remote access for services has created new

support they need. We would like Deaf people in England to know that they are not alone, not forgotten, not neglected, and not excluded. We will do this by improving awareness and understanding about loneliness via accessible resources in BSL, by reducing stigma and prejudice towards loneliness within the Deaf community through community engagement, and with their support, by reaching out to BSL users at risk of chronic loneliness to encourage them to take steps to reduce their loneliness.

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Equality & Rights

GLA Voter ID Awareness Campaign – ended March 2023

The BDA was granted short-term funding to deliver a project on behalf of the Greater London Authority (GLA) to raise awareness about the upcoming changes to voting, including the need

at Deaf groups across London, including Eltham, Camden, Stratford, Harrow, Romford and Hackney, reaching a total of 176 Deaf participants. We also hosted a livestream event with Dr Elisabeth Pop from the GLA.

When we delivered the information about the changes to the voting process by the introduction of Voter ID, all Deaf attendees said they did not know about this change and were grateful that we were ensuring Deaf people had access to this information. At the end of each session, attendees were asked if they understood the process and what ID they would need to take in order to cast their vote. All attendees responded that they had a clear understanding of what ID is required but interestingly approximately 25% said they would still not vote due to the polling stations not being accessible, the lack of communication by political parties with Deaf people and a lack of accessible democratic literacy. Attendees stated while they understood the reasoning behind introducing a Voter ID system and what they would need to bring to vote, 75% of the attendees stated that they would now vote at the next election.

Advocacy & Inclusion

Derbyshire BSL Helpline – started January 2023

We are delighted to secure funding form the National Lottery Community Fund for a new 3-year project to support Deaf communities in Derby and Derbyshire to increase awareness of their rights, to access local services and information in BSL. The BDA will be working closely with six partner organisations who provide information and advice services to the local population. The project will include specialist Deaf equality training for partner organisations, the creation of resources in BSL, detailed information sessions for members of the Deaf community

in Derby and Derbyshire so they become more aware of their rights, and the establishment of a BSL Helpline for the Deaf community to ask for information and advice.

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BSL Charter and Equality & Rights

The BDA has continued to promote the BSL Charter, advocating for public services to sign up to the BSL Charter, working where possible with local Deaf communities. We carried out work where we scrutinised, mapped and discussed issues from our engagement with members of the Deaf community for the BSL Charter for the Greater London Authority (GLA). A draft report has been completed for their consideration or amendments, along with a series of recommendations for the GLA to adopt. The GLA is making plans in readiness for the Mayor of London to sign the BSL Charter later in 2023.

An audit report with a series of recommendations for Nottinghamshire County Council was completed. The audit included interviewing Nottinghamshire County Council staff and engaging with the members of the local Deaf community, supported by Nottinghamshire Deaf Wellbeing Action Group. Nottinghamshire County Council is now in the process of implementing these recommendations to support their commitment to the BSL Charter. These include a co-

and design local accessible services and supporting the establishment of a Deaf professional Network group for Deaf professionals working in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

We also secured and delivered 18 BSL Equality and Rights Training sessions to various organisations and seven BSL Taster sessions to various organisations.

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Equality & Rights

Care and Repair

BDA Cymru were commissioned to deliver an information and referral service between Deaf people and the Wales Care and Repair Service, from March 2021 to March 2025. This includes an advice service, information sessions to Deaf groups, and producing information videos in BSL.

Eight information sessions and consultations were held via Zoom and four video clips were recorded and shared on the BDA Cymru Facebook page.

provided with contact details of their local services.

Advocacy & Inclusion

Advocacy Services for Deaf Adults

The service, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, advocates with Deaf BSL users to investigate, identify, migrate, and remove where possible, barriers to effective access to public services in Wales.

Key highlights during 2022 – 2023 included:

Individual advocacy casework

137 individuals were supported and empowered, well exceeding our initial target of 60 people. Demand for our service was especially high due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. We supported a large number of Deaf people to maximise their income, reduce debt and prepare budgets. Many people made multiple referrals as the Deaf community continues to face barriers in accessing services using BSL. For example, some people struggled with contacting Welsh Water, so we engaged with them. They have now committed to make improvements in 2023/24 and share accessible information with Deaf people.

Information sessions

17 different information sessions were delivered to 203 people across South Wales. We attended four Deaf Clubs to provide accessible information about Care & Repair services. We delivered a Know Your Rights roadshow at Deaf Clubs and via Zoom. We also delivered a session with Diabetes UK and organised an accessible BSL tour of the Greek Orthodox Church in Cardiff.

We held 30 coffee mornings to help Deaf people stay connected as a response to isolation caused by the Covid pandemic. These will cease in the next year as we return to a more normal health situation.

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BSL Charter and Equality & Rights

Community forums and consultations

We set up four community forums and consultations involving 86 service users, via online Advocacy Hubs, coffee mornings and in-person sessions discussing issues, such as Care & Repair services and CADW.

We worked with a range of organisations, including Caerphilly County Borough Council, Working Wales, Welsh Water and Tenovus Cancer Care. In each case, we shared feedback from Deaf people and provided information on how to make their services more accessible to BSL users.

Media and communications

As of 31st March 2023, 21 information videos had been produced, covering topics such as diabetes, menopause, energy grants, dentistry, the cost of living for pensioners, the cost of living

Discretionary Assistance Fund, National Insurance, tax, fraud, and more. We also updated the Deaf Community on various Welsh / UK news items, such as the hosepipe ban in Summer 2022.

On average, our videos each reached at least 426 people across Wales who directly viewed them on either Facebook or WhatsApp. Our menopause video reached at least 897 people. The real reach is much higher as our videos were shared on by many Welsh Deaf clubs and networks.

British Sign Language

We liaised with a member of the Senedd (Welsh Assembly), Mark Isherwood, who proposed a second motion to call for the Welsh Government to introduce a British Sign Language Act for Wales, which has been passed in December 2022. We also engaged with the Welsh Government and members of the Deaf community based in Wales to collate and publish a comprehensive report of recommendations for the Welsh Government to consider, along with an executive summary of the full report in BSL.

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Community

Deaf Roots and Pride (DRP) Transitions Project

BDA Scotland are delighted to receive funding from The National Lottery Community Fund and The Robertson Trust to deliver a new Deaf Roots & Pride (DRP) Transitions project for three years. This is aimed at Deaf children and young people (aged 8-25 years) who are transitioning from primary to secondary education or from secondary to further education and work in Scotland.

To date, we recruited 20 Deaf role models to meet 68 Deaf young people through 18 different planned activities at schools online and face-to-face, including practical workshops enabling pupils to learn about different career paths. Four videos were made by Youth Advisory Group members, who interviewed Deaf role models and Deaf young people.

transitions at schools in Scotland, along with two transitions workshops for 17 parents.

Youth Advisory Group (YAG) & Parents Advisory Group (PAG)

representatives from the Parents Advisory Group (PAG) met once a year, to support and shape the DRP transitions work including its web page which hosts all the BSL information videos and photos featuring Deaf role models. Two live-streamed online discussions, Wee BSL Blethers, were hosted by our Youth Advisory Group members. Information about the career paths of 4 Deaf Role Models was also shared.

Jock Young Award

The Jock Young Award 2022 was promoted widely, and 5 Deaf young people were nominated. Our winner

nominated in two categories: Educational and Personal Skills and she achieved many things under each category such as joining her local authorities children and young people’s group and teaching BSL to her hearing peers at her mainstream school.

The Deaf Dementia Research Report

“Let’s Talk About…”, the Deaf Dementia Research Report on Deaf people with dementia and care homes in Scotland was discussed at an online livestream to help provide evidence which could massively improve the living conditions for Deaf people living with dementia in a care home environment.

BDA Scotland held a Deaf Dementia Research Report for Care Homes in Scotland event in Glasgow. The event was attended by many members of the Deaf community, who had the opportunity to learn more about dementia and care homes, and to contribute to valuable discussions on how to make care homes more accessible for Deaf residents. Many people shared their personal experiences, which sparked some very interesting conversations.

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Three BSL videos were created to encourage people to think about their loved ones, family members or friends living with dementia in care homes: Activities, Deaf – All About Me, and Befrienders for Care Homes.

Equality & Rights and British Sign Language

Equality & Human Rights

BDA Scotland received funding from the Scottish Government’s Equality and Human Rights Fund to focus on the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 and the BSL National Plan 2017-2023. This is a three-year project running from October 2022 – September 2024.

Key highlights during 2022 – 2023 included:

boards

BDA Scotland produced 57 BSL videos and 13 livestreams about local authorities and NHS

a Deaf cultural perspective. They were viewed by over 56,885 people.

BSL Helpline

The BSL Helpline supported 60 clients with 64 enquiries with advocacy, information and advice about, and signposting to, Scotland’s Local Authorities and NHS Health Boards.

Consultations

BDA Scotland supported eight responses to the Scottish Government’s and Public Services’ consultations, to ensure that Deaf BSL users’ voices were included to influence strategic-level decision-making.

Community Engagement

BDA Scotland facilitated bridge-building meetings between the Scottish Deaf community and Scottish public services at a number of local Deaf Clubs. 11 representatives of Scottish public services visited 24 Deaf Clubs, reaching a total of 455 Deaf BSL users across the visits.

BDA Scotland provided 14 engagement workshops for 100 public services staff to learn more about how to engage and involve the Deaf community better. BDA Scotland also organised two BSL Tours for 48 Deaf BSL users to learn more about Scottish Culture in BSL.

Twelve monthly live-streamed online discussions, BSL Blethers, were run, with the aim of reducing social isolation, and improving mental health and wellbeing by delivering information on a wide range of topics for the Deaf community from 23 different guest speakers, all of whom were Deaf.

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Your Views: BSL National Plan 2017 – 2023

BDA Scotland hosted ‘Your Views: BSL National Plan 2017 – 2023’ in Glasgow. The event was attended by 72 people including Councils, NHS and Deaf community members, and highlighted positive examples of good practice across Scotland where Deaf people are working collaboratively with public services to implement the BSL National Plan. Deaf panellists shared their personal experiences, which sparked some very interesting conversations. This event was

review, set for October 2023.

Education Scotland – BSL Toolkit for Practitioners

BDA Scotland produced a BSL video summary of the BSL Toolkit for Practitioners, which was developed in partnership between Education Scotland, BDA Scotland and the University of Edinburgh.

Rights for Deaf young people

88 Deaf school pupils from 10 different schools participated in “Knowing Your Rights” training

rights.

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Community

Deaf Roots & Pride (DRP) Northern Ireland – ended October 2022

Funded by Children in Need (CiN) Northern Ireland, we provided 19 activities to 111 young Deaf people in Northern Ireland. This was delivered with support by trained Deaf mentors. We created three BSL interview videos with three young Deaf people on how DRP has positively impacted their lives. As part of Voice of Young People in Care (VOYPIC), two young Deaf people who were involved with DRP, shared their experiences and views on young people in care and access to health care in Belfast.

Promoting BSL and ISL in Northern Ireland funded by Sign Language Partnership Group – Started January 2023

Funding from NI’s Department for Communities enabled us to deliver our Family Signing in the Home for the eighth year, reaching out to 9 families of Deaf children to teach them sign language.

The second part of the project was Sign Language Teacher Training delivered in partnership with Hands that Talk, included providing a bespoke 6-week course to new and existing Deaf teachers to support them back into the classroom and address the lack of Deaf sign language teachers currently in Northern Ireland. This course was delivered by a Deaf trainer and, although not accredited, was an invaluable resource for Deaf participants to draw on the knowledge and expertise of a Deaf trainer with many years of experience.

Advocacy & Inclusion

Advocacy Services for Deaf Adults

The service, funded by the Department of Health Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG), advocates on behalf of Deaf BSL and ISL users to ensure equal access to health and social care services throughout Northern Ireland.

Key highlights during 2022 – 2023 included:

Personal Advocacy Casework

We supported 116 cases, empowering 94 individuals, with representation to several health and social care practitioners and service providers, to improve practices, provision and access.

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) Sign Language Users’ Forum

Established in May 2021, the Users’ Forum, consisting of service users and the carers of service users who are Deaf sign language users and who access Belfast Trust services. The aim is to

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improve and develop health and social care service provision by tackling inequalities and raising awareness of good practice. The NI Advocacy Service played a key role in supporting Deaf people who receive health care within this Trust area.

Information sessions

We exceeded our targets for Information Sessions, delivering 26 sessions with 324 service users participating. It was great to continue working with the Make the Call Team and Mental Health and Deafness team in delivering sessions on the cost of living. We maintained our partnership with the Women’s Resource Development Agency by providing vital information sessions in relation to Breast, Cervical and Bowel Cancer

awareness screening. Further information sessions included Menopause & HRT Medication and Healthy Minds, which were also very well received by the local Deaf community.

Community forums and consultations

We set up 11 community forums and consultations involving 76 service users, Advocacy Hubs and coffee mornings discussing a range of health and social care issues. We also co-produced a communication card

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SCAN ME FOR ISL
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detailing mask-wearing and how book an interpreter during medical appointments and Care Opinion Consultations.

Equality & Rights

Deaf Equality Training to staff providing Health and Social Care service

We continued to deliver our BSL / ISL Equality training sessions. 11 training sessions were delivered to 135 participants, including GP practices, nursing staff, consultants, social workers and hospital frontline staff.

In the last quarter of 2022-23, we were able to start delivering training within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT), which was a new opportunity for us. We have established a partnership with the Northern Trust GP Federation, which has proven really

practices in the northern area. We are currently working with the NHSCT to arrange further training sessions for staff working in this area.

Media and communications

On 31st March 2023, 4 information videos were produced. Topics included:

1. Organ Donation – Daithi’s Law in NI

2. What is Advance Care Planning?

3. What is ReSPECT in Advance Care Planning?

4. What is Sepsis?

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British and Irish Sign Language

Sign Language Week

During Sign Language Week 2023, BDA NI hosted an event in partnership with Belfast City Council at Belfast City Hall. Over 70 people attended, including members of the local Deaf community, representatives from Belfast City Council including the Lord Mayor, HSC staff and partner organisations. It was great to have Sabina Iqbal, one of the BDA’s Trustees, join us at the event and speak on behalf of the BDA.

The theme of the event was ‘Protecting BSL and ISL’ and focused on the development of accessible and inclusive Health and Social Care resources for Deaf sign language users across Northern Ireland. The event showcased accessible resources. After lunch, there were partner keynote speeches and two of our service users shared their lived experiences.

25th Anniversary Celebration

In June 2022, we hosted a celebration event for our 25th Anniversary of BDA in Northern Ireland. This coincided with the launch of the new 999 BSL service. It was fantastic to see other Deaf organisations in attendance as well as representatives from statutory and public services. Various speakers talked about the work of BDA in Northern over the past 25 years, right from the beginning to present day. Two service users shared the impact that BDA services have had

BSL & ISL Charter

As part of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s commitment to signing the BSL & ISL Charter, the BDA has started this work with an initial visit to the Deaf members at Foyle Deaf Association. This was to explain to the Deaf residents the BSL & ISL Charter and our rights to access public services and to gain some feedback of their experiences accessing services in the Derry City and Strabane areas.

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Across the diverse Deaf communities in the UK, there is a shared ambition that the BSL Act 2022 will serve as a turning point to bring about social change to dismantle the barriers that have restricted Deaf people’s lives for more than 130 years, ever since the BDA was established.

Over the next ten years, we will work with Deaf communities to build a grassroots social justice movement. We will set up regional member forums where Deaf people can learn about their shared history, receive training to fully understand their civil rights and feel empowered to become equality activists.

We will seek to learn from our partners in Scotland, where they have had a BSL Act in place since 2015. We will also support BDA Northern Ireland and Wales to achieve their own sign language acts.

We recognise we can’t do it alone. We must work together to ensure a shared collective voice that helps to shift attitudes, break down barriers and unlock the potential of the British Deaf communities. Working together, we can achieve meaningful change.

This strategy aims to bring back regional member forums, an updated version of the popular ‘branch’ model of BDA membership which was raised by so many members during the roundtable series. We will consult with members about the design of these forums as we

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Together with our members across the country, we can co-produce plans for a national #BSL2032 movement.

Deaf people and BSL signers are at the heart of everything the BDA does. We recognise that the Deaf community is made up of a diverse cross-section of society, which we as a national organisation need to do more to authentically represent. We acknowledge that the BDA needs to adapt.

with our members, respecting their views and priorities. We will be honest and accountable about our decisions, and equal, fair and inclusive in our approach. We want members to be proud of the BDA and feel that the work we are doing makes a difference to their lives. We deeply value their support.

We believe that the way to make this new strategy a genuine success is to win the support of our colleagues, members, stakeholders, Trustees and staff. Nothing about us, without us – all of us!

Deaf people are the experts of our own lives. As self-advocates, we have the potential to contribute expertise, skills and experience that enrich our societies and make them more just, inclusive, and prosperous. Dr Robert Adam, Chair of the BDA Board of Trustees ”

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European Union of the Deaf (EUD)

Our former Chair, David Buxton OBE, successfully stood for election to join the EUD Board of Trustees in November 2022. We wish David every success in his new role.

Review of our Articles of Association

Work commenced on this during 2021-2022, and, following a consultation and Q&A event, the revised Articles were unanimously passed at the last AGM on 30th April 2022.

Finance

to ensure the continued prudent management of our funds. This included the Sage Cloud migration and archiving data to enable the system to run faster.

Human Resources

We migrated all our manual HR data over to an online platform called Breathe HR. Breathe is an automated people-management system that is designed to reduce HR admin. The system allowed us to bring all our people-data together in one secure place while allowing staff to log sickness, request holidays, update personal information, view documents and much more.

Fundraising

organisation. Members wanted to see the BDA thrive and bring in a sustainable income, moving away from the dependence on legacies. We listened and commissioned a fundraising consultant to analyse the BDA’s income over the past 5 years.

small number of legacies each year. The BDA’s proactive income generation is largely projectbased. The charity has been successful in securing National Lottery funding (for all four countries) and Government funding, particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The BDA receives some

the Deaf space receive. BDA receives very little unrestricted income from small trusts.

The BDA is a membership organisation but has neither membership income nor an individual giving programme. Individuals, nevertheless, continue to make donations to the charity. There are low hundreds of individuals making donations in the region of c£20k p.a. currently, without any active promotion.

The key factor holding back the growth of the BDA’s fundraising income is the lack of clear focus and strategic direction. There are too many ad-hoc activities and too much chasing of money without a clear sense of priorities and long-term goals.

community and those who are engaged with our cause. It recommends we:

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Develop new fundraising approaches

Develop a more strategic approach to funding

Develop a BDA Case for Support for both the Deaf Community and other potential funders

Have clear accountabilities for funding and communications

Develop a full cost recovery model for funding

Develop the BDA’s digital capabilities

Develop the systems and processes to support fundraising including successfully implementing the new CRM

Customer Relationship Management system (CRM)

The BDA had a very limited CRM in place, and it was part of a disjointed and disconnected data management and data processing infrastructure.

Following a commissioning process, we kicked off 2023 with the transformation of our CRM and recording systems by commissioning Beacon CRM solution to enable the BDA to manage the following functions:

1. Fundraising

2. Marketing

3. Client/Programme Management

Tracking grant income, improving communication with supporters and members and developing

service user interventions and engagement is also important for the BDA, to help us better

and analytics that demonstrate the impact of our work will support decision making and provide the information and data required for funding submissions and regulators.

The next phase of the plan is outlined as follows:

Phase 2 will see the migration of donor data and fundraising implementation. Phase 3 will consist of staff training before we go live.

Upon completion, Beacon will be used for the following features:

1. Record management

2. Prospect and donor development

3. Engagement

4. Communications and donor relations

5. Gift and pledge management

6. Reporting

7. Client/programme management

All this work was made possible by the very generous legacies left to the BDA enabling us to lay down the foundations to strengthen the BDA to deliver our strategic vision over the next 10 years.

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(2021-22: £1,505,388)

Legacies remain an unpredictable income source which should not be relied upon. In this financial year there was a decrease of £61,172 in legacies receivable to £533,586 (2021-22: £594,758)

The BDA’s surplus for 2022-23 stands at £436,758 (2021-22 surplus: £761,370). General funds increased by £451,568 to £1,001,250 which represents 6.1 months of the annual expenditure budget for 2022-23.

Income

Total income increased by 1.7% from £1,505,388 in 2021-22 to £1,531,952 in 2022-23.

Legacy income totalled £533,586 in 2022-23 (2021-22: £594,758) representing 34.8% of total income (39.5% in 2021-22).

Expenditure

During 2022-23, 93.1p of every £1 of total expenditure was spent on direct costs towards empowering Deaf people (2021-22: 81.1p of every £1). The remaining 6.9p in every £1 (2021-22: 18.9p) went towards other costs such as fundraising, organisational governance and our European and international work.

Expenditure increased during the year by £351,176 to £1,095,194 (2021-22 total: £744,018) with the investment of a new CRM, launch of a new Sign Language Week 2023 campaign and the development of a fundraising plan from designated funds.

The breakdown of expenditure on charitable activities as a proportion of total charitable activities costs are as follows:

Charitable Activity	% of charitable activity costs 2023	% of charitable activity costs 2022
Deaf Access and Inclusion projects	23.8%	36.9%
Deaf Community Advocacy projects	25.2%	25.3%
BSL Media and Deaf Community Development projects	25.2%	15.5%
Deaf Children, Youth and Families projects	12.0%	15.2%
Sign Language and Training projects	6.9%	3.7%
Policy and Campaigns	6.9%	3.4%

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Funds

Total funds were £2,167,143 (2021-22: £1,730,385), of which £1,001,250 related to general funds (2021-22: £549,682) and £302,757 (2021-22 £303,000) in the Pension Reserve. A further £199,693 has been set aside for organisational and Deaf Community development by way of designated funds (2021-22: £250,000).

payments of £47,810 per year to 2025, and, to pay scheme administration expenses of £53,441 per year, (increasing by 3% per annum) until the scheme winds down or when the last member

total cost of these repayments from unrestricted funds, thereby providing reassurance to funders that project grants will not be used to service the Pension Debt contributions. In the 2022-23 accounts, the BDA has a Pension Fund Reserve of £302,767, compared to £303,000 (2021-22).

past year. (See note 14.) Total restricted funds have increased by £35,740 to £663,443 (2021-22 total: £627,703).

Plans for using the BDA reserves over the next 3 years

Our general funds have increased from £549,682 in 2021-22 to £1,001,250 in 2022-23.

Income and existing project grants have been designated for, and will continue to underpin, key areas of work such as Deaf Community Advocacy, Deaf Access and Inclusion, Deaf Children and their Families, and the increased use and visibility of sign language presentations and videos through our social media platforms.

Reserves	2022-23	2021-22
Current Project Grants	£222,115	£146,806
Legacies/ADAs Funds	£441,328	£480,897
Total Restricted Funds	£663,443	£627,703

Designated: Development Fund	£199,693	£250,000
Designated: Pension Deficit Fund	£302,757	£549,682
General Funds	£1,001,250	£549,682
Total Unrestricted Funds	£1,503,700	£852,682

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The BDA will continue to carefully monitor its reserves. In 2023, we continued to prioritise securing project funding for Deaf community projects – particularly given the need to provide additional support through visual language communication in our first language, BSL.

The current reserves policy as agreed by the Trustees is a minimum of 50% of annual expenditure or 6 months running costs in the current

financial year, in order to preserve the BDA’s cash flow and to meet any OR CLICK HERE unexpected contingencies. Based on the 2023-24 budget, a 50% target would require a reserve of £810,000 in unrestricted general funds. The present level of free

the 50% target level.

In addition to the free reserves, £302,757 has been set aside to meet our future Pension Liability obligations for the next two years, to 2025.

Review comments continue on page 52

contributions towards the BSL Act Now! Campaign:

Black Deaf UK, iBSL, NDCS, NRCPD, Signature, SignHealth, RAD, RNID and our 56 volunteers.

Our thanks also to those who made generous donations and remembered the British Deaf Association in their Wills.

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Grateful thanks to the following funders for their generous support of our work:

¢° Scope Bringing Our Community Together – ° Smart Energy GB England

¢ Greater London Authority (GLA) ° Cost of Living (smart meters) – England ¢° BBC Children in Need – Black Country Voter ID Awareness Campaign – England ¢ National Lottery Community Fund ° Deaf Roots & Pride – England ¢° National Lottery Community Fund – Wales Derbyshire BSL Helpline – England ¢ Welsh Government °

Advocacy, Access and Inclusion – South Wales

Care & Repair Cymru

Scottish Government

BSL Charter audit – Wales

¢° National Lottery Community Fund – Equality & Rights project – Wales Scotland °

° BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 – various projects ° Deaf Roots and Pride Transitions – Scotland

©° Life Changes Trust Deaf Roots and Pride Transitions – Scotland © BBC Children In Need – Northern Ireland ° Dementia and Research projects – Scotland ¢° Northern Ireland Department for Deaf Roots and Pride – Northern Ireland Communities ° Family Signing in the Home – Northern Northern Ireland Department for Ireland °° Communities Languages Capital Fund – Northern Ireland ¢ Northern Ireland Health & Social Care ° Deaf Advocacy Service – Northern Ireland Board ° BDA support services ° The Privy Purse Charitable Trust

Our special thanks to our corporate sponsors towards the BDA’s inaugural BSL Conference, which was held on 17th March 2023 in London, in particular, our headline sponsor SignVideo as well as Bellman , SignLive , Interpreting Matters , Royal School for the Deaf Derby , Involve and Signly .

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We would like to extend our grateful thanks to SignLive for nominating the BDA as their Charity of the Year between March 2022 and March 2023. They raised an incredible £33,473.63 by taking part in several fundraising events. SignLive’s staff Tina Costi ran the London Marathon in October 2022 and SignLive’s CEO Steve Beck did the Kiltwalk. We will be forever grateful to SignLive for their amazing support.

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The Trustees, who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report and accounts for the year ended 31st March 2023.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, applicable law, and the SCAN ME requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice Accounting and OR CLICK Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) effective from 1 January 2019.

The British Deaf Association is constituted as a company limited by guarantee and is registered

Charity Regulator (OSCR). The charity’s governing document is the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The charity’s full name is ‘The British Deaf Association’ (referred to herein as ‘the BDA’).

The governing body of the charity, the Board of Trustees, is responsible for the administration of the BDA.

The BDA is incorporated in England and Wales and is governed by a Board of Trustees, listed on page 1, who are elected every three years by members. The Trustees are provided with key information on appointment such as Trustee Handbook and Charity Commission booklet CC3. They are also required to attend a full Trustee Induction Away Day or Weekend.

Management is delegated to the CEO, who works with a team of managers, and who are responsible for delivering the full range of the BDA’s activities. The Board and CEO meet and agree the Charity’s strategic intentions.

The report resultant of these discussions is a reference point for all projects and developments.

The Board determines the remuneration of the CEO on an annual basis and in doing so, they benchmark salaries across comparable salaries with similar sized organisations within the sector,

the Charity’s objectives and activities and in planning future activities. Our

our activities.

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Statement of Trustees responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of British Deaf Association for the purposes of

in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the

required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);

make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the accounts;

presume that the charitable company will continue to operate.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with

Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and the provisions of the charity’s constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Insofar as the Trustees are aware:

there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware; and,

the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

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Auditors

Price Bailey LLP were appointed auditors to the company in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.

Fundraising

Staff employed by British Deaf Association carry out the majority of our fundraising activities. For some activities, we work with freelancers to assist with our fundraising. All arrangements are governed by written agreements that cover the responsibilities of each party and ensure that anyone working on our behalf adheres to our strict ethical standards.

The British Deaf Association is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and complies with the Code of Fundraising Practice and the Fundraising Promise. No instances of non-compliance

complaints about our fundraising activities (2021-2022: none).

and legacies. When seeking to raise money from the public, we only send marketing material to those who have previously said they are happy to be contacted by us (and individuals are free to change their minds at any time). We take great care to ensure that our level of communication with our supporters is

not engaged in telephone marketing or in raising money from door to door or street collections.

For the first time, we joined the Remember A Charity scheme in 2022, calling on our members and supporters to remember the BDA in their Will.

Principal risks and uncertainies

The principal risks faced by the charity are the unpredictable legacy income, need to sustain its contributions to the Pension Trust, fall in donations, and pressure on funders due to the cost-of-living crisis and coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic which, in turn, have created challenges for the charity to secure funds. We have a risk register that is reviewed and updated annually. In addition, the charity has a Business

Continuity Plan that covers how the BDA identifies key activities, evaluates risks, and considers and plans for Business Continuity in the event of an unplanned/emergency event which affects our ability to function normally.

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Plans for the future

Taking BSL Forward: British Deaf Association’s 10-Year Strategic Vision 2022-2032

At long last, our language has now been recognised in legislation by the UK Government. We must seize this opportunity to prepare the ground for the world we want, promote the

There is a shared ambition that the BSL Act 2022 will be a turning point in our history, bringing about social change to dismantle the barriers that have restricted Deaf people’s lives for more than 130 years, since the BDA was established.

Members overwhelmingly called on the BDA to work with the UK Government to introduce bold new measures over the next decade that will make progress towards equal civil rights for Deaf people in the United Kingdom. The top priority must be for Deaf children and their

system, setting them up to become equal and valued members of society.

Being Deaf is nothing to be ashamed of. Deaf people can excel at anything, just like hearing

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people around us, if our hands are not tied by unnecessary and discriminatory language and communication barriers. Building on the groundbreaking BSL Act (Scotland) in 2015, BSL now has official status across the whole of Great Britain with the BSL Act

Government to actively promote and facilitate its use.

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The hard work starts now. We will begin to build the #BSL2032 movement. We need to deliver our vision for a world in which Deaf people no longer struggle, but instead positively thrive from birth to old age, playing a full part in British society, and British Sign Language is promoted, protected and preserved for future generations.

The 10-year Strategic Vision, Taking BSL Forward, takes as its starting point the date at which the BSL Act, which recognised British Sign Language as a language of Great Britain in law for the

That date will now be celebrated annually as National BSL Day.

Small Company Exemptions

The report has been prepared taking advantage of the small companies’ exemption of section 415A of the Companies Act 2006.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees

Chair: …………………………………………

Dr Robert Adam

Date: 31 August 2023

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Opinion We have audited the financial statements of British Deaf Association (the

‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities (including income & expenditure account), the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows, and notes to

is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and the Charities SORP 2019.

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2023, and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities SORP 2019, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in

are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are

basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

the directors of the company for company law purposes) use of the going concern basis of

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the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees annual report, other

not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent

appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in

there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

the information given in the Trustees’ report (which includes the directors’ report prepared

the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report.

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We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit or

small companies’ regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemption and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible

fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due fraud or error.

company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the

We have been appointed as auditor under section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and under Companies Act 2006 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in

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Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We gained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to the charitable company and the sector in which it operates and considered the risk of the charitable company not complying with the relevant laws and regulations including fraud; in particular those that

relation to the operations of the charitable company this included compliance with Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011 and the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.

The risks were discussed with the audit team and we remained alert to any indications of

Review of legal fees incurred; Reviewing minutes of Trustee Board meetings;

Enquiring of management, including those charged with governance; Reviewing key accounting policies and estimates

To address the risk of management override of controls, we carried out testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness. We also assessed management bias in

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all

non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or

we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the FRC’s website at: https://www. frc.org.uk/auditors/audit-assurance-ethics/auditors-responsibilities-for-the-audit

This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

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Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charitable company’s Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. AU. Coqe-D=

Michael Cooper-Davis FCCA ACA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of:

Price Bailey LLP

Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors 24 Old Bond Street London W1S 4AP

22 December 2023

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		General	Designated Unrestricted	Designated Unrestricted	Restricted	2023	2022
		Funds	Funds	Funds	Funds	Total	Total
Notes		£	£	£	£	£	£
Income
Donations and legacies	2	652,934	-	652,934	725	653 659	662,902
Other trading activities		42,128	-	42,128	-	42,128	15,270
Investment income		1,764	-	1,764	-	1,764	13
		696,826	-	696,826	725	697,551	678,185
Income from charitable	3	133,374	-	133,374 701,027	133,374 701,027	834,401	827,203
activities
Total income		830,200	-	830,200	701,752	1,531,952	1,505,388
Expenditure
Raising funds
Fundraising costs		39,779	-	39,779	-	39,779	10,443
Charitable activities
Costs of charitable activities		339,096	50,307	389,403	666,012	1,055,415	733,575
Total expenditure	4	378,875	50,307	429,182	666,012	1,095,194	744,018
Net income /		451,325	(50,307)	401,018	35,740	436,758	761,370
(expenditure)
Transfers between funds	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Net movement in funds		451,325	(50,307)	401,018	35,740	436,758	761,370
Funds at 31 March 2022		852,682	250,000	1,102,682	627,703	1,730,385	969,015
Funds at 31 March 2023		1,304,007	199,693	1,503,700	663,443	2,167,143	1,730,385

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			2023		2022
	Notes	£	£	£	£
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets	9		5,394		1,648
Current assets
Debtors	10	789,468		733,806
Cash at bank and in hand		1,676,538		1,258,598
		2,466,006		1,992,404
Creditors: amounts falling due	11	(268,407)		(180,249)
within one year
Net current assets			2,197,599		1,812,155
Creditors: amounts falling due	12		(35,850)		(83,418)
within one year
Total assets less current liabilities			2,167,143		1,730,385
Funds
Restricted funds	14		663,443		627,703
Unrestricted funds
–Designated funds	15		199,693		250,000
–General Funds			1,001,250		549,682
–Pension Reserve			302,757		303,000
Total funds			2,167,143		1,730,385

companies subject to the small companies’ regime. Approved by the Board of Trustees on 31st of August 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Dr Robert Adam (Chair)

Company Registration No. 2881497

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	Notes	2023	2022
		£	£
Cash fow from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities	A	424,170	308,542
Cash fow from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fxed assets	9	(6,230)	-
Net cash used by investing activities		-	-
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year		417,940	308,542
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2022		1,258,598	950,056
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2023		1,676,538	1,258,598
Notes to the cash fow statement for the year 31 March 2023
A – Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net		2023	2022
cash fows from operating activities		£	£
Net movements in the funds for the year		436,758	761,370
Depreciation charge		2,484	1,649
(Increase) in debtors		(55,662)	(225,860)
Increase/(Decrease) in creditors		40,590	(228,617)
Net cash provided by operating activities		424,170	308,542
B – Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank and in hand		1,676,538	1,258,598

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1 Accounting policies

1.1 BASIS OF PREPARATION

the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” effective

The charity had a dormant subsidiary company, Big D Company Limited, whose registered

has been dormant for many years. Following the decision of the Trustees to close this entity, it was subsequently dissolved on 24 January 2023. The charity has not prepared consolidated accounts as inclusion of the results of its subsidiary undertaking, Big D Company Limited, as it

1.2 GOING CONCERN

was previously available to participating staff. The charity’s funding commitment to the pension scheme remains long term, however at the 31 March 2023 the pension scheme reserves are in surplus. Therefore overall, unrestricted funds are considered adequate to meet all working capital needs for the foreseeable future.

As set out in more detail under the ‘Plans for the future’ section of the Trustees’ report, the Trustees have agreed to make a number of investments to ensure the charity increases its income over the medium to long term, as well has having the infrastructure to support the charity’s growth. Going concern is dependent on future income continuing at an acceptable

expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus, the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of

1.3 CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND JUDGEMENTS

certain estimates and judgements that have an impact on the policies and the amount reported

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in the annual accounts. The estimates and judgements are based on historical experiences and other factors including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable at the time such estimates and judgements are made. The items in the accounts where these judgements have been made include;

included in the accounts as a multi-employer scheme and BDA share is not known.

1.4 INCOME

Income for both restricted and unrestricted funds are recognised in full in the Statement of

Legacies are recognised at the earlier of actual receipt or on receipt of Estate accounts which

accurate measure of the legacy. If the legacy is in the form of an asset other than cash or an asset listed on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the asset being able to be reliably measured and title to the asset has passed to the charity. Recognition is not taken for legacies subject to a life interest as they do not meet the SORP’s recognition criteria.

Investment income is recognised on a receivable basis. All grants (including from government) are accounted for when the charity has entitlement to the funds, and performance related conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

1.5 EXPENDITURE

The costs of raising funds relate to the costs incurred by the charitable company in raising funds for its charitable work. Governance costs are primarily associated with constitutional and statutory requirements. Expenditure is recognised in the period in which they are incurred. Resources expended include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered. Resources expended are allocated to the activity where the cost relates directly to that activity. Other costs represent the cost of charitable activities that cannot be directly attributed (Directors, Administration, Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology) but which are incurred to deliver our services are apportioned across other activities on the basis of their use of those resources.

1.6 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS AND DEPRECIATION

where the purchase price exceeds £500. Depreciation costs are allocated to activities on the basis of the use of the related assets in those activities. Assets are reviewed for impairment if circumstances indicate their carrying value may exceed their net realisable value and value in

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use. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life using the straight-line method. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:

Computer equipment 2 years

1.7 LEASING AND HIRE PURCHASE COMMITMENTS

Rentals payable under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and rewards of

year in which they fall due.

1.8 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

Cash and cash equivalents include cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

1.9 PENSIONS

The charitable company participates in a multi-employer pension scheme, the Pension Trust’s Growth Plan. The assets of the Scheme are held in an independently administrated fund. (see note 14). In accordance with FRS 102 section 28, the SOFA includes;

against net income).

The increase in the present value of the scheme’s liabilities arising from the passage of time (also charged against net income:

scheme is the contributions payable in the year All allocations (income or expenditure) arising from the pension schemes are charged to unrestricted funds.

1.10 ACCUMULATED FUNDS

Unrestricted funds are donations and other income receivable or generated for the objects of the charity.

which meets these criteria is charged to the fund together with a fair allocation of support costs. Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Trustees for particular purposes.

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1.11 CONSTITUTION, ADDRESS AND LEGAL STATUS

The British Deaf Association is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number 2881497), and also a registered charity (charity

is, St. John’s Deaf Community Centre, 258 Green Lanes, London N4 2HE. The charitable company is limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The liability of each member in the event of winding up is limited to £1.

1.12 FUNCTIONAL CURRENCY

1.13 FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

and subsequently measured at their settlement value. Fixed assets are recorded at depreciated historical cost and all other assets and liabilities are recorded at cost which is their fair value.

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2 Donation and Legacies

		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total 2023
		funds	funds	funds
		£	£	£	£
Donations and gifts		119,348	-	725	120,073
Legacies receivable		533,586	-	-	533,586
	Total	652,934	-	725	653,659
		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total 2022
		funds	funds	funds
		£	£	£	£
Donations and gifts		66,584	-	1,560	68,144
Legacies receivable		594,758	-	-	594,758
	Total	661,342	-	1,560	662,902

3 Charitable Activities

		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total 2023
		funds	funds	funds
		£	£	£	£
Sign Language Projects		-	-	3,325	3,325
Deaf Children, Youth and Families Projects		-	-	84,855	84,855
Deaf Community Advocacy Projects		-	-	259,114	259,114
Deaf Community Development		-	-	54,705	54,705
Deaf Access and Inclusion Projects		-	-	299,028	299,028
Others		133,374	-	-	133,374
	Total	133,374	-	701,027	834,401
		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total 2022
		funds	funds	funds
		£	£	£	£
Sign Language Projects		-	-	18,976	18,976
Deaf Children, Youth and Families Pro-jects		-	-	107,861	107,861
Deaf Community Advocacy Projects		-	-	202,817	202,817
Deaf Community Development		-	-	145,190	145,190
Deaf Access and Inclusion Projects		-	-	283,833	283,833
Others		68,526	-	-	68,526
	Total	68,526	-	758,677	827,203

Included within income from charitable activities are government grants received amounted �� attaching to these grants (2022: none).

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4 Expenditure

4 Expenditure

		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total 2023
		funds	funds	funds
		£	£	£	£
Costs of raising funds		39,779	-	-	39,779
Charitable expenditure		389,160	-	666,012	1,055,172
Other – pension scheme costs		243	-	-	243
	Total	429,182	-	666,012	1,095,194
		Unrestricted	Designated	Restricted	Total 2022
		funds	funds	funds
		£	£	£	£
Costs of raising funds		10,443	-	-	10,443
Charitable expenditure		110,766	-	735,324	846,090
Other – pension scheme costs		(112,515)	-	-	(112,515)
	Total	8,694	-	735,324	744,018
		Staf costs	Depreciation	Other costs	Total 2023
		£	£	£	£
Costs of raising funds		21,587	-	18,192	39,779
Charitable activities:
Direct costs		515,477	-	163,277	678,754
Support costs		40,463	2,484	298,984	341,931
Governance costs		1,998	-	32,489	34,487
		557,938	2,484	494,750	1,055,172
Other expenditure:
Pension fnance charges		2,478	-	-	2,478
Remeasurements of scheme valuation		(2,235)	-	-	(2,235)
Pension scheme administration expenses		-	-	-	-
	Total	579,768	2,484	512,942	1,095,194
		Staf costs	Depreciation	Other costs	Total 2023
		£	£	£	£
Costs of generating funds		8,523	-	1,920	10,443
Charitable activities:
Direct costs		464,536	-	171,117	635,653
Support costs		91,318	1,649	94,128	187,095
Governance costs		108	-	23,234	23,342
		564,485	1,649	290,399	856,533
Other expenditure:
Pension fnance charges		3,451	-	-	3,451
Remeasurements of scheme valuation		(156,862)	-	-	(156,862)
Pension scheme administration expenses		40,896	-	-	40,896
	Total	451,970	1,649	290,399	744,018

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Analysis of charitable expenditure Direct Indirect

	Staf	Other	Staf	Other	Total 2023
	costs	costs	costs	costs
	£	£	£	£	£
Sign Language Projects	-	170	7,717	12,839	20,726
Deaf Children, Youth and Families	65,712	19,422	4,589	33,082	122,805
Deaf Community Advocacy Projects	151,589	78,254	(1,669)	28,561	256,735
Deaf Community Development	60,939	463	(1,669)	19,294	79,027
Policy and Campaigns	25,721	10,146	17,104	17,700	70,671
Deaf Access and Inclusion	133,919	51,682	4,171	53,252	243,024
Publication, Membership & Communications	(40)	8,594	4,589	57,001	70,144
Deaf Training Projects	29,594	182	1,460	18,764	50,000
BSL Media, Governance, Access to Work and Others	48,043	(5,636)	4,171	95,462	142,040
Total	515,477	163,277	40,463	335,955	1,055,172
	Staf	Other	Staf	Other	Total 2022
	costs	costs	costs	costs
	£	£	£	£
Sign Language Projects	(1,333)	21,017	10,877	(373)	30,188
Deaf Children, Youth and Families	73,607	21,554	9,707	20,241	125,109
Deaf Community Advocacy Projects	147,890	30,638	7,368	22,330	208,226
Deaf Community Development	36,909	77,225	7,368	8,998	130,500
Policy and Campaigns	140	15,351	14,385	(2,085)	27,791
Deaf Access and Inclusion	169,838	99,318	11,549	22,975	303,680
Publication, Membership & Communications	-	4,222	9,977	4,422	18,621
Deaf Training Projects	(19,280)	(37,035)	8,538	1,555	(46,222)
BSL Media, Governance, Access to Work and Others	56,765	(61,172)	11,657	40,947	48,197
Total	464,536	171,118	91,426	119,010	846,090

Analysis of support costs	2023	2022
	£	£
Premises and related costs	85,620	43,596
Travel and accommodation	37,373	15,079
Ofce costs	76,200	56,887
Training and related costs	-	3,330
Governance costs	34,487	23,342
Consultancy	101,925	83,095
Other costs	177,337	65,070
Total	512,942	290,399

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

5 Cost of raising funds

Other costs comprise:	2023 (3)	2022 (3)
Costs of generating donations and legacies	18,192	1,920
	18,192	1,920

6 Governance costs

Other goverance costs comprise of:	2023 (3)	2022 (3)
Audit fees	13,857	11145
Legal and professional fees	–	5,454
Trustees’ costs (including staf costs)	20,630	6,743
	34,487	23,342

Included within Trustees’ costs is £5,222 (2022: £416) paid to 5 (2022: 2) Trustees, with respect to reimbursement of travel, hotel and subsistence expenses relating to the business of the charity. None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year (2022: £Nil).

7 Employees

7 Employees
The average head count of employees during the year was:	2023	2022
Deaf Community Advocacy	5	6
Deaf Community Development	10	3
Deaf Access and Inclusion	-	5
Deaf Children, Youth and Families	2	15
BSL and Deaf Films Development	-	2
BDN / BSL Media and Communications	3	2
Policy and Campaigns	1	-
Support Staf	3	3
Secondment	1	1
	25	36

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

8 Employment costs


	2023 (£)	2022 (£)
Wages and salaries	471,720	426,873
Social security costs	37,096	29,584
Redundancy costs	-	1,990
Other pension costs	15,192	16,483
Sub total	524,008	474,930
Other staf related costs	55,517	89,555
FRS 102 Valuation movement on defned beneft scheme	243	(112,515)
Total	579,768	451,970

There were no employees whose annual emoluments were £60,000 or more (2022 – Nil). The key management and personnel of the charity is the Chief Executive (who started from January 2022). Total remuneration with respect to key management and personnel amounted to £57,303 (2022: £10,000).

��

	Computer	Fixtures, fttings &	Total
	equipment	equipment	Total
Costs	£	£	£
At 1 April 2022	85,980	12,710	98,690
Additions	6,230	-	6,230
At 31 March 2023	92,210	12,710	104,920
Depreciation
At 1 April 2022	84,332	12,710	97,042
Charge for the year	2,484	-	2,484
At 31 March 2023	86,816	12,710	99,526
Net book value
At 31 March 2023	5,394	-	5,394
At 31 March 2022	1,648	-	1,648

10 Debtors

10 Debtors
	2023 (£)	2022 (£)
Trade debtors	72,160	47,385
Other debtors	669,033	631,009
Prepayments and accrued income	48,275	55,412
	789,468	733,806

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

11 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

	2023 (£)	2022 (£)
Trade creditors	80,342	12,879
Taxation and social security costs	607	6,159
Other creditors	-	2,211
Deficit repayment plan on multi-employer pension scheme	47,811	47,811
Accruals and deferred income (see below)	139,647	111,189
	268,407	180,249

Included within creditors: amounts falling due within one year are the following movements in deferred income;

deferred income;
	2023 (£)	2022 (£)
Deferred income brought forward	24,654	59,733
Income deferred in the year	124,397	24,654
Deferred income released from prior year	(24,654)	(59,733)
Deferred income carried forward	124,397	24,654

by the charity but recognised as income in a future accounting period. Income deferred relates to grants received in the current year but which relate to a future period.

12 Creditors:

amounts falling due after one year

	2023 (£)	2022 (£)
Deficit repayment plan on multi-employer pension scheme	35,850	83,418

13 Pension and other post-retirement

contribution scheme.

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A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

contribution scheme.

The scheme is subject to the funding legislation outlined in the Pensions Act 2004 which came into force on 30 December 2005. This, together with documents issued by the Pensions Regulator and Technical Actuarial Standards issued by the Financial Reporting Council, set out

potentially liable for other participating employers’ obligations if those employers are unable

purchase basis on withdrawal from the scheme.

A full actuarial valuation for the scheme was carried out on 30 September 2020. This valuation

this funding shortfall, the Trustee has asked the participating employers to pay additional contributions to the scheme as follows:

DEFICIT CONTRIBUTIONS

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----- Start of picture text -----
From 1 April 2022
£3,312,000 per annum Payable monthly
to 31 January 2025
----- End of picture text -----

Unless a concession has been agreed with the Trustee, the term to 31 January 2025 applies.

The recovery plan contributions are allocated to each participating employer in line with their estimated share of the Series 1 and Series 2 scheme liabilities.

arrangement the company recognises a liability for this obligation. The amount recognised is

PRESENT VALUES OF PROVISION

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----- Start of picture text -----
31 March 2023 (£000s) 31 March 2022 (£000s) 31 March 2021 (£000s)
Present value of provision 84 131 395
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A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

RECONCILIATION OF OPENING AND CLOSING POSITIONS

Year Ending 31 March 2023 (£000s)	Year Ending 31 March 2023 (£000s)	Year Ending 31 March 2022 (£000s)
Provision at start of period	131	395
Unwinding of the discount factor (interest ex-pense)	2	3
Deficit contribution paid	(47)	(151)
Remeasurements – impact of any change in assumptions	(2)	(3)
Remeasurements – amendments to the contribution schedule	-	(113)
Provision at end of period	84	131
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE IMPACT
Year Ending 31 March 2023 (£000s)		Year Ending 31 March 2022 (£000s)
Interest expense	2	3
Remeasurements – impact of any change in assumptions	(2)	(3)
Remeasurements – amendments to the contribution schedule	-	(154)
Scheme administration expenses	(53)	41
Total	(53)	(113)

ASSUMPTIONS

ASSUMPTIONS
	31 March 2023 %per annum	31 March 2022 %per annum	31 March 2021 %per annum
Rate of discount	5.52	2.35	0.66

The discount rates shown above are the equivalent single discount rates which, when used to discount the future recovery plan contributions due, would give the same results as using a full AA corporate bond yield curve to discount the same recovery plan contributions. The

scheme at each year end period:

DEFICIT CONTRIBUTION SCHEDULE

Year Ending	31 March 2023 (£000s)	31 March 2022 (£000s)	31 March 2021 (£000s)
Year 1	48	48	151
Year 2	40	48	156
Year 3	-	40	161
Year 4	-	-	138

The company must recognise a liability measured as the present value of the contributions payable

it arises. It is these contributions that have been used to derive the company’s balance sheet liability.

held in a separate fund from the company. Amounts charged during the year from this scheme are £15,192 (2022: £16,483) and the amount outstanding on 31 March 2023 was £Nil (2022: £2,080).

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A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

14 Restricted Funds

MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

	Balance at	Income	Expenditure	Transfer	Balance at
	1 April 2022				31 March 2023
	£	£	£	£	£
Legacies / ADAs	480,897	-	39,569	-	441,328
Current Project Grants	146,806	701,752	626,443	-	222,115
Total	627,703	701,752	666,012	-	663,443
LEGACIES / ADAs
Local Group Legacy Funds	136,613	-	39,569	-	97,044
Youth Funds	4,416	-	-	-	4,416
Scotland Funds	54,259	-	-	-	54,259
Greater London Funds	40,000	-	-	-	40,000
Research Funds	69,774	-	-	-	69,774
Holiday Schemes Funds	119,993	-	-	-	119,993
Other Restricted Funds	25,030	-	-	-	25,030
Area Deaf Associations	30,812	-	-	-	30,812
Total	480,897	-	39,569	-	441,328
CURRENT PROJECT GRANTS
Scottish Government: Equality	17,872	227,318	202,287	-	42,903
Dementia Project (Scotland)	28,223	-	-	-	28,223
Dementia Research (Scotland)	6,730	-	3,395	-	3,335
BSL Case Scenarios (Scotland)	11,882	-	-	-	11,882
Northern Ireland – General	-	49,779	46,131	-	3,648
Wales _ General	-	500	50	-	450
Deaf Access/Inclusion (England)	-	52,981	15,468	-	37,513
Deaf Access/Inclusion (Wales)	-	5,700	3,260	-	2,440
Deaf Advocacy (N. Ireland)	12,340	156,785	154,243	-	14,882
Deaf Advocacy (Wales)	950	102,329	93,578	-	9,701
Deaf Roots and Pride (Scotland)	-	26,486	20,380	-	6,106
Deaf Roots & Pride (N. Ireland)	10,205	19,446	29,651	-	-
Family Signs at Home (N. Ireland)	611	38,923	22,952	-	16,582
Covid-19 Project (Wales)	-	4,317	57	-	4,260
Welsh Government – BSL Charter	-	3,325	655	-	2,670
Loneliness Engagement (England)	-	13,029	3,542	-	9,487
Deaf Children’s Literacy	37,993	-	10,312	-	27,681
Deaf Heritage Films Project	20,000	834	20,482	-	352
Total	146,806	701,752	626,443	-	222,115

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

	COMPARATIVE 2022	COMPARATIVE 2022	COMPARATIVE 2022
	Balance at	Income	Expenditure	Transfer	Balance at
	1 April 2021				31 March 2022
	£	£	£	£	£
Legacies / ADAs	482,897	-	2,000	-	480,897
Current Project Grants	119,893	760,237	733,324	-	146,806
Total	602,790	760,237	735,324	-	627,703
LEGACIES / ADAs
Local Group Legacy Funds	138,613	-	2,000	-	136,613
Youth Funds	4,416	-	-	-	4,416
Scotland Funds	54,259	-	-	-	54,259
Greater London Funds	40,000	-	-	-	40,000
Research Funds	69,774	-	-	-	69,774
Holiday Schemes Funds	119,993	-	-	-	119,993
Other Restricted Funds	25,030	-	-	-	25,030
Area Deaf Associations	30,812	-	-	-	30,812
Total	482,897	-	2,000	-	480,897
CURRENT PROJECT GRANTS
Scottish Government: Equality	432	151,154	133,714	-	17,872
Scottish Government: Health	6,453	59,789	66,242	-	-
Sottish Government: Digital	-	6,000	6,000	-	-
Dementia Project (Scotland)	28,223	250	250	-	28,223
Dementia Research (Scotland)	-	38,123	31,393	-	6,730
BSL Case Scenarios (Scotland)	11,882	-	-	-	11,882
BSL Companions (Scotland)	-	6,199	6,199	-	-
Scotland – General	-	727	727	-	-
Northern Ireland – General	-	92,372	92,372	-	-
Deaf Access/Inclusion (England)	24,516	37,018	61,534	-	-
Deaf Access/Inclusion (N. Ireland)	-	3,548	3,548	-	-
Deaf Access/Inclusion (Wales)	-	20,868	20,868	-	-
Deaf Advocacy (N. Ireland)	8,412	102,500	98,572	-	12,340
Deaf Advocacy (Wales)	400	100,317	99,767	-	950
Deaf Roots & Pride (Black Country)	1,582	9,801	11,383	-	-
Deaf Roots & Pride (Scotland)	-	2,247	2,247	-	-
Deaf Roots & Pride (N. Ireland)	-	33,435	23,230	-	10,205
Family Signs at Home (N. Ireland)	-	26,781	26,170	-	611
Covid-19 Project (Wales)	-	19,273	19,273	-	-
Welsh Government – BSL Charter	-	10,125	10,125	-	-
Loneliness Engagement (England)	-	15,582	15,582	-	-
BSL Stores DPO (N. Ireland)	-	8,851	8,851	-	-
Capital Fund (N. Ireland)	-	14,819	14,819	-	-
Deaf Children’s Literacy	37,993	-	-	-	37,993
Deaf Heritage Films Project	-	458	(19,542)	-	20,000
Total	119,893	760,237	733,324	-	146,806

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

The membership of the Association has been divided into geographical areas, each of which is head-ed by an Area Deaf Association which operates separate accounts. These are consolidated into one account as a restricted fund, since the Trustees have ultimate control over these funds. The following splits out the summary results by area.

		At 1 April	Income	Expenditure	At 31 March
		2022			2023
		£	£	£	£
East of England Deaf Association (EEDA)		2,116	-	-	2,116
Greater London Deaf Association (GLDA)		652	-	-	652
North East Deaf Association (NEDA)		271	-	-	271
North West Deaf Association (NWDA)		13,731	-	-	13,731
Deaf Association Northern Ireland (DANI)		4,510	-	-	4,510
Scottish Deaf Association (SDA)		2,990	-	-	2,990
Deaf Association Wales (DAW)		2,693	-	-	2,693
South West Deaf Association (SWDA)		2,419	-	-	2,419
East Midlands Deaf Association (EMDA)		472	-	-	472
West Midlands Deaf Association (WMDA)		958	-	-	958
South East Deaf Association (SEDA)		-	-	-	-
Yorkshire & Humberside Deaf Association (YHDA)		-	-	-	-
	Total	30,812	-	-	30,812

		At 1 April	Income	Expenditure	At 31 March
		2021			2022
		£	£	£	£
East of England Deaf Association (EEDA)		2,116	-	-	2,116
Greater London Deaf Association (GLDA)		652	-	-	652
North East Deaf Association (NEDA)		271	-	-	271
North West Deaf Association (NWDA)		13,731	-	-	13,731
Deaf Association Northern Ireland (DANI)		4,510	-	-	4,510
Scottish Deaf Association (SDA)		2,990	-	-	2,990
Deaf Association Wales (DAW)		2,693	-	-	2,693
South West Deaf Association (SWDA)		2,419	-	-	2,419
East Midlands Deaf Association (EMDA)		472	-	-	472
West Midlands Deaf Association (WMDA)		958	-	-	958
South East Deaf Association (SEDA)		-	-	-	-
Yorkshire & Humberside Deaf Association (YHDA)		-	-	-	-
	Total	30,812	-	-	30,812

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

The nature of the restricted funds is shown below;

Local Group Legacy Funds:

bequeathed through Wills to fund activities.

Youth Funds:

Holiday Schemes Fund:

Other Restricted Funds: Set up a small number of key Deaf project funding carried over to complete the funding in the next year.

Area Deaf Associations: Set up 12 regional Deaf association funds as part of the BDA run by and for local BDA members.

Deaf Heritage Project: Funded SHARE (The Deaf Visual Archive) online archive bringing

range, richness and depth of the Deaf community and their history.

Scottish Government (Equality Unit): Funded the BSL (Scotland) Act project to support the engagement of BSL users to participate and contribute.

Big Lottery (NI) Deaf Roots & Pride: Funded the activities programme for Deaf children and young adults in Northern Ireland.

Big Lottery (Scotland) Deaf Roots: Funded the activities programme for Deaf children and young adults in Scotland.

Big Lottery (England) Deaf Advocacy: Funded the advocacy service for Deaf people in the Midlands and East London.

Dementia Scotland: Funded the project supporting Deaf people who have dementia and their carers enabling them to share and receive information, knowledge and experiences.

Deaf Community Advocacy (Wales): Funds the advocacy service for Deaf people in the South Wales.

Deaf Community Advocacy (NI): Funded the advocacy service for Deaf people in Northern Ireland.

Deaf Access and Inclusion (NI): Funded a short term project in Northern Ireland.

Deaf Access and Inclusion (England): Funded a short term project for Deaf people in England.

Deaf Children’s Literacy: One-off funding to fund Deaf Children Literacy project.

BSL Case Scenario / Give Me BSL: Funded a BSL incentive project in Scotland.

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A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

15 Unrestricted Funds

The income funds of the charity include the following designated funds which have been set

2023 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS	2023 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS	2023 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS	2023 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
	Balance at	Income	Expenditure	Transfer	Balance at
	1 April 2022				31 March 2023
	£	£	£	£	£
General Fund	549,682	830,200	(378,632)	-	1,001,250
Development Fund	250,000	-	(50,307)	-	199,693
Pension FundTotal	303,000	-	(243)	-	302,757
Total	1,102,682	830,200	(429,182)	-	1,503,700
2022 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS	2022 MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
	Balance at	Income	Expenditure	Transfer	Balance at
	1 April 2021				31 March 2022
	£	£	£	£	£
General Fund	159,595	745,151	(8,694)	(346,370)	549,682
Development Fund	46,328	-	-	203,672	250,000
Pension Fund	160,302	-	-	142,698	303,000
Total	366,225	745,151	(8,694)	-	1,102,682

Pension Fund: Since April 2013, the Pensions Trust has required the BDA to pay additional pension contributions. Our pension liability debt on 31 March 2022 is approximately £84,000, however our pension reserve at the same date just under £303,000 and therefore we currently have a surplus position. Based on the September 2020 actuarial valuation a new payment plan

reduction payments of £47,810 per year to 2025, and, to pay scheme administration expenses of £53,441 per year, (increasing by 3% per annum) until the scheme winds down or when the

unpredictable, especially unknown legacy income, hence why the Board’s priority is to protect the BDA’s long-term future by ensuring there are sufficient funds allocated to its Pension Reserve Fund.

Development Fund: The main purpose of the Development Fund is to cover new business development opportunities, such as consultancy to help redesign the charity’s database infrastructure and a strategic review of our fundraising position.

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

16 Analysis of changes in net debt

		Balance at	Cash fows	Other non-	Balance at
	1	April 2022		cash changes	31 March 2023
		£	£	£	£
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash		1,258,598	417,940	-	1,676,538

17 Analysis of net assets between funds

	General	Designated	Designated	Restricted	Total
Fund Balance at 31 March 2023	Funds	Pension	Funds	Funds
represented by	£	£	£	£	£
Tangible Fixed Assets	5,394	-	-	-	5,394
Current Assets	1,092,055	386,418	199,693	787,840	2,466,006
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(96,199)	(47,811)	-	(124,397)	(268,407)
Creditors: amounts falling due after one year	-	(35,850)	-	-	(35,850)
	1,001,250	302,757	199,693	663,443	2,167,143
Fund Balance at 31 March 2022
represented by	£	£	£	£	£
Tangible Fixed Assets	1,648	-	-	-	1,648
Current Assets	655,820	434,229	250,000	652,355	1,992,404
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(107,786)	(47,811)	-	(24,652)	(180,249)
Creditors: amounts falling due after one year	-	(83,418)	-	-	(83,418)
	549,682	303,000	250,000	627,703	1,730,385

16 Analysis of changes in net debt

At the 31 March 2023, the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

	Land and Buildings	Land and Buildings	Other
	2023	2022	2023	2022
	£	£	£	£
Within 1 year	2,885	-	4,671	7,404
Between 2 and 5 years	-	-	-	4,671
	2,885	-	4,671	12,075

19 Related party transactions

During the year the Trustees made donations which totalled £Nil (2022: £35)

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 2 - 2 0 2 3

British Deaf Association St John’s Deaf Community Centre, 258 Green Lanes, London N4 2HE www.bda.org.uk | bda@bda.org.uk

The BDA stands for D eaf E quality, A ccess and F reedom of Choice

Company limited by guarantee number 2881497 Registered charity number 1031687 (England and Wales) and SC042409 (Scotland)

Trustees

Trustees

Departing Trustees during 2022-23

Trustees’ Annual Report 2022-23

Who we are

Timeline of the BSL Act

What happens next?

Dr Robert Adam Chair

During 2022 – 2023, our key campaign highlights included:

Protecting BSL

5. BSL GCSE

We also launched the following activities to gather support for the BSL GCSE:

6. Katie’s campaign – Free BSL classes for all families with deaf children

Preserving BSL

Thank you to our Headline Sponsor:

Promoting BSL

- Queens Chapel Nursery

- Whitehall School

Other 2023 recipients included:

6. Ahmed Mudawi ,

Our team behind the campaigns

VISUAL LANGUAGE PRODUCTIONS

Our Work: Heritage of BSL

Archiving BSL materials

Languages Capital Fund programme

– ended July 2022

Community

BBC Children in Need, Black Country – ended October 2022

Cost of Living Crisis funded by SEGB (Smart Energy) – ended December 2022

Bringing Our Community Together – started January 2023

Equality & Rights

GLA Voter ID Awareness Campaign – ended March 2023

Advocacy & Inclusion

Derbyshire BSL Helpline – started January 2023

BSL Charter and Equality & Rights

Equality & Rights

Care and Repair

Advocacy & Inclusion

Advocacy Services for Deaf Adults

Key highlights during 2022 – 2023 included:

Individual advocacy casework

Information sessions

BSL Charter and Equality & Rights

Community forums and consultations

Media and communications

British Sign Language

Community

Deaf Roots and Pride (DRP) Transitions Project

Youth Advisory Group (YAG) & Parents Advisory Group (PAG)

Jock Young Award

The Deaf Dementia Research Report

Equality & Rights and British Sign Language

Equality & Human Rights

Key highlights during 2022 – 2023 included:

boards

BSL Helpline

Consultations

Community Engagement

Your Views: BSL National Plan 2017 – 2023

Education Scotland – BSL Toolkit for Practitioners

Rights for Deaf young people

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Community

Deaf Roots & Pride (DRP) Northern Ireland – ended October 2022

Promoting BSL and ISL in Northern Ireland funded by Sign Language Partnership Group – Started January 2023

Advocacy & Inclusion

Advocacy Services for Deaf Adults

Key highlights during 2022 – 2023 included:

Personal Advocacy Casework

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) Sign Language Users’ Forum

Information sessions

Community forums and consultations

Equality & Rights

Deaf Equality Training to staff providing Health and Social Care service

Media and communications

British and Irish Sign Language

Sign Language Week

25th Anniversary Celebration

BSL & ISL Charter

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