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2024-12-31-accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 06632452 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1145249

Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

for

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Godfrey Wilson Ltd 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince St Bristol BS1 4QD

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Contents of the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Page
Report of the Trustees 1 to 18
Report of the Independent Auditors 19 to 22
Statement of Financial Activities 23
Balance Sheet 24
Cash Flow Statement 25
Notes to the Cash Flow Statement 26
Notes to the Financial Statements 27 to 34

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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 1 January 2019).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

The objects of the charity are "the promotion of social inclusion among the deaf community who are socially excluded from society, or parts of society, as a result of being deaf by encouraging, supporting and developing the provision of broadcasting of sign-presented content (in any media) for the members of the deaf community".

Public benefit

In 2024 the Board agreed to change the audience for the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust (BSLBT) programmes from the deaf community whose first and preferred language is British Sign Language (BSL) to the deaf community and sign language users to broaden our audience which, in turn, will raise awareness for the deaf community and sign language. For some who are deaf, English is at best a second language, and indeed written and spoken language is not part of deaf people's natural experience or culture. This means that subtitling on television is often a challenge - and real access to, and understanding of, many programmes may be limited.

BSLBT aims to address the social exclusion of Deaf people. It is the sole provider of television programmes made specifically for the Sign Language community. As well as providing vital information in their native language, here Deaf people can also see themselves and their lives reflected, and their experiences and culture shared and acknowledged through their preferred language. Deaf children and young deaf people at last have role models to identify with, while a geographically fragmented Deaf population is brought together and validated as a community. In addition, the programmes provide visibility of the Deaf community to the mainstream world.

In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit, including the guidance 'public benefit: running a charity (PB2)'.

Aims of the charity

The aims of the charity are:

• To engage with the Deaf community to find out their views on what programmes and other content they wish to see;

• To provide a wide range of television programmes made in British Sign Language; and

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE Charitable activities Main objectives for the year

COMMISSIONING

Creation of a two-year strategic plan for commissioning from 2024-2026.

The Chief Executive (who is also the Head of Content) and the Head of Production (recruited in Spring 2024) created and implemented a two-year commissioning strategy. Some key headlines from the strategy are:

This strategy was drafted with the new vision for the charity, which was signed off by the Board in Spring 2024, as "the go-to place for fresh, diverse and innovative content that celebrates and connects with the deaf and sign language communities".

The strategy is reviewed regularly by the Board, with updates from the management team. To date, each headline has either been completed or is making good progress. Deaf Designs, a home makeover programme centre around the philosophy of the 'deaf space', Crafty Champions, a fun children's competitive format that encourages arts, crafts and upcycling and Random with Gavin Lilley, the first ever BSL comedy panel, were all developed and moved onto production stage in 2024. We hope to recommission at least one of these formats in 2025.

With a new strategy of reaching out to production companies- ones that we work with regularly and also new production companies- we received a record number of 53 submissions (historically BSLBT receive an average of 13 ideas per commissioning round whilst restricted to a few selected production companies). This meant that 'bold, fresh' content went into development- produced by a mixture of established suppliers and new suppliers- including a new dating format and a series of mini documentaries on music and the deaf community. We have new production companies such as Slick Films making our drama productions and as part of our 2025 Commissioning Slate we are working with new production companies such as Goldwala and considering ideas from DocHearts and Vibrant TV. As part of the 2024 Commissioning Round we specifically targeted a number of new production companies with diverse leadership and reputations for championing EDI. We believe that this helped produce the record number of submissions.

The Chief Executive and the Drama Commissioner are developing a few dramas with high profile 'deaf celebrities' attached to boost the quality of our dramas but also to attract new viewers. These dramas are currently confidential with NDAs signed but are making good progress with high profile writers attached also.

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

We are also developing a pre-school programme with the potential to be produced/co-produced with BSLBT for a streaming service to fill the gap in the market and to raise our profile. This also fits in with our charitable aims. We have recruited Deborah MacDonald, the executive producer of Peppa Pig to lead this with writer, Rebecca Atkinson.

Commissioning more great programmes.

Thirty-six factual programmes were commissioned in 2024 and ten dramas of varying lengths were commissioned in 2024. See Table 1 for the list of factual programmes commissioned and Table 2 for the list of dramas commissioned. This brings us to a total of forty-six programmes commissioned in 2024, an increase from the total of thirty-nine programmes commissioned in 2022 and 2023.

There were some re-commissions to give our audience a mix of new shows and popular returning series. Returning series are very important to BSLBT and our brand. Established shows are part of our commissioning strategy as it gives the audience familiarity and brings back the shows that they love to watch. Returning series are also key for training and development opportunities. It also keeps risks to a minimum as it is an established format made by suppliers who we are familiar with. This year's recommissions included This is Deaf series 4 (Signpost), a magazine format for the deaf community covering a range of topics, and Sign2Win series 4 (Drummer TV), a popular BSL games show.

There were three new documentaries commissioned in 2024. Watch Us Roar (Flashing Lights Media) saw Samuel Ash's debut 28 mins film as a factual director, which followed the endeavours of the women's futsal team at the Winter Deaflympics in Turkey. Echoes of the Past (Flashing Lights Media) was Fae Al-Kalamchi's debut 28 mins film as a factual director, which followed Sandra Smith as she traced back her family tree to see how far back the 'deaf gene' goes. We hope that this could become a format that can be recommissioned with different families with the popularity of genealogy in the deaf community. Untouched (Mutt and Jeff Pictures) will be BSLBT's first documentary that explores lives of those with Usher syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes deafness and vision loss.

Three new formats were developed and commissioned in 2024, with the view of potentially recommissioning them in line with the Trust's new commissioning strategy. These formats were Deaf Designs (Drummer TV), a home makeover programme centre around the philosophy of the 'deaf space', Crafty Champions (Flashing Lights Media) a fun children's competitive format that encourages arts, crafts and upcycling and Random with Gavin Lilley (Drummer TV), the first ever BSL comedy panel. A series of high quality mini documentaries based on the relationship between music and the deaf community base also been developed and commissioned- Deaf Jams under Goldwala.

2024 also saw the production of two 28 minutes films that will broadcast in 2025. The Chris Baker Show, David Sand's first opportunity to write a 28 minute film, saw Small World's much loved character, Chris Baker, return to our screens. In this mockumentary, we follow his rather shambolic quest to make money. In Where the Light Gets In, Rebecca A Withey crafts a moving film that follows a deaf mother whose anxiety begins to affect her relationships, putting her at risk of losing her son. This was created by an entirely female-led team.

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Project Filmmaker/Production
House		 Number of programmes
This Is Deaf Series 4 SignPost 5
Sign2Win Series 4 Drummer TV 12
Watch Us Roar! (single documentary) Flashing Lights Media 1
Untouched (single documentary) Mutt and Jeff Pictures 1
Echoes of the Past(single documentary) FlashingLights Media 1
Crafty Champions Flashing Lights Media 5
Deaf Designs Drummer TV 5
Random with Gavin Lilley Drummer TV 5
Deaf Jams Goldwala 4
Total of commissioned factual programmes 39

Table 1: Factual Programmes Commissioned in 2024

As part of our 2024/2025 commissioning round, we have several factual projects in development such as Goldwala's Hold My Hand, a brand-new dating format that has mainstream potential. Flashing Lights Media are developing an investigative three-parter, Open Your Eyes, fronted by Erika Jones and Drummer Television are working on a single archive programme, 100 Years of Deaflympics, to tie in with the centennial Deaflympics in 2025.

Project Writer Production Company
The Chris Baker Show David Sands Mutt & Jeff Pictures
Where The Light Gets In Rebecca A Withey Drummer TV
Cleaned Out Sam Arnold HearArt
Sucker Fae Al-Kalamchi Mutt & Jeff Pictures
The Escape Room Ruaridh Lever-Hogg Mutt & Jeff Pictures
My Mother’s Spices Nadia Nadarajah Slick Films
Familiar Stranger Ace Mahbaz Slick Films
An Ode to Seventeen Fae Al-Kalamchi Slick Films
Remember Me Rebecca Ann Withey Slick Films
Black and White Brian Duffy Slick Films
Total of commissioned drama
programmes		 10 (of varying lengths)

Table 2: Dramas Commissioned in 2024

We also have several drama projects in development such as a three-part rom com about a woman navigating menopause, titled Moody Mel Wants A Lover, written by Rebecca A Withey and produced by North Bridge Media. We have a family friendly single film, Otherworld, co-created by Paula Clarke and Charis McRoberts. We also have Boarder Land, an exciting dark thriller, written by Brian Duffy and Matt Kyle with Bim Ajadi as director. We are also working on some highly confidential drama developments with high profile writers and deaf actors attached with the view of exploring a new financial model and co-funding these films as part of a longer-term strategy to increase our drama budgets to bring drama rates more in line with mainstream rates after a tariff review in 2023 showed that our drama rates are significantly lower. This also means that we will be moving away from the old 2020-2023 strategy as it is no longer about the quantity of programmes but rather the quality of programmes.

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

All are available to watch at www.bslzone.co.uk although some programmes commissioned in 2024 will not be broadcast until 2025.

To grow more deaf programme-makers.

Development opportunities and training for deaf programme makers continued in 2024. David Sands (Chris Baker Show with Mutt and Jeff Pictures) and Rebecca A Withey (Where the Light Gets In with Drummer TV) were given the opportunity to write a 28 ' minute film with support and guidance from their respective production companies. It was also Clare Louise English's first directing opportunity for a 28 ' minute film (Where the Light Gets In). A short film scheme was launched to give three budding writers, Ruaridh Lever-Hogg, Sam Arnold and Fae Al-Kalamchi, the opportunity to write their first 15-minute script with the support of a designated mentor and a series of masterclasses to support their learnings. All three writers will also direct their films, expanding their skillset and knowledge. It will be the first time that Sam, Ruaridh and Fae have directed a short drama for BSLBT.

A monologue/duologue film scheme was also launched with the criteria being open to all. It will be the first time that Nadia Nadarajah, Ace Mahbaz and Lisa Kelly will be directing a short film, which, in turn will grow our pool of directors (especially female directors).

Samuel Ash and Fae Al-Kalamchi were selected as new deaf directors to make a 28-minute single factual television programme for the BSL Zone, produced by Drummer Television. We also continued the Trust's 'Step Up' initiative to give filmmakers the opportunity to step up from Assistant Producer level to producer/director level under the mentorship and guidance of Drummer Television. Four ideas by new filmmakers were selected to work with Drummer Television to flesh out their respective decks, ready for pitching to BSLBT. One idea will be commissioned in 2025.

Additionally, the Trust continued to give a training allowance for specific skills building for Deaf members of the team such as:

A commissioning round was held in summer 2024 for the next short film scheme and three new writers were selected. They are Bodhrán Mullan and Rinkoo Barpaga (this will be Rinkoo's first drama). We are also in the process of identifying a deaf writer on the third film, pitched by Curiouser and Curiouser Films. The three writers will be working closely with the Trust and their respective production companies in 2025 to develop their films, ready for production in 2026.

Subtitling Initiative

The Trust also launched a training scheme in 2024 for deaf translators to become subtitlers: a first in the industry. They are being trained by Selma Boyd, the only specialist subtitler for BSL content. We have four translators who are nearing the end of their formal training, Benjamin Gorman, Sam Calder-Bray, Russell Cooke and Alexandra Shaw. The cohort will be moving onto subtitling BSLBT programmes in 2025. Last, but not least, the Trust full funded Bim Ajadi's film, Becoming Jazzy Whipps (Redbird Productions), as part of Together TV's Diverse Film Fund to give opportunities to deaf and neurodiverse filmmakers.

BSLBT's First Talent Manager.

In our endeavours to grown, retain and nurture off-screen deaf talent, which, in turn, will grow the number of filmmakers to make our programmes, the Trust's first ever Talent Manager was recruited in 2024, Sam Calder-Bray.

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

An online registration form with all questions in both BSL and English was launched at the beginning of May 2024. We now have 75 names of both experienced and new deaf/HOH talents covering a variety of roles: location marshal, director, runner, producer, art department assistant, make-up artist, etc. We have a growing list of names from Scotland and Wales. We will strategise how to reach out to potential deaf and hard of hearing talents in Northern Ireland to ensure that we have representation from all regions of the UK in our database.

The Talent Manager, with an experienced deaf runner, launched a regular webinar on what a production runner does on set and sharing tips. This will be a good opportunity for those aiming for entry-level roles in TV and will enable anyone from all over the UK to access this, as it will be conducted online. In 2025, the Talent Manager will adopt the same process for different webinars covering a wide range of topics, e.g., explaining the research process, how to pitch an idea well, what post-production involves, and so on.

Our inaugural course with Drummer TV, Flashing Lights Media and Zebra Uno was held at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield on 7th and 8th November 2024, titled Talent Acceleration. It was an exciting new initiative that gave deaf media professionals of various production backgrounds such as researchers and assistant producers the toolkit to further progress their career in media and step up to producer/director level when they are ready.

Feedback was canvassed afterwards and there was a high level of satisfaction with:

Here are some extracts from the feedback to show the value of the course:

The Trust does not want this to be the first and last course. The Talent Manager at BSLBT aims to look at creating a strategy for 'BSLBT Academy' to ensure that we provide a variety of courses and training opportunities. This strategy will catalyse conversations with external potential funders such as Screen Skills, Sky, Channel 4 and National Film and Television School.

In 2025 a 2-year talent strategy will be created to ensure that we continue to develop, retain and nurture deaf talent, not only to grow the pool of talent to make high quality programmes for us but also in line with our charity's aim to tackle social exclusion among deaf people and provide them with a stepping stone to mainstream careers.

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

COMMUNICATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

Strategic work on Communications and Distribution to raise BSLBT's profile

Following on from the restructure in 2024, which saw the formation of a new communications and distribution team, the Trust implemented its first communication and distribution two-year strategy. The key headlines from the strategy are:

The strategy is reviewed regularly by the Board, with updates from the management team. To date, each headline has either been completed or is making good progress. Ashley Kendall was recruited as Head of Communications and Distribution in June 2024.

Since Ashley's recruitment, the management team and communications and distribution team have been working very hard to achieve the strategic objective to change BSLBT's operating name and to start a bold rebrand. Ravi Vasavan and Tom Clayton, two freelancers, were engaged to lead on the rebrand. To gather diverse insights, three focused workgroups were organised: one with members of the deaf community, one with deaf professionals working in media, and one with internal staff and the Board. These discussions revolved around what BSLZone means to each group. This paved the way for the naming process. Lumo was selected from a longlist and based on advice from Withers LLP, the name was changed to LumoTV in order to secure a UK trade mark application. LumoTV has now been successfully registered and legal guidance was followed from the start of the process.

In November 2024, a soft launch, announcing the new name and branding, was held at Channel 4 with over 150 people attending. Those in attendance were a mixture of production companies, filmmakers, stakeholders, Board members, staff and organisations that BSLBT work closely with. The evening was a great success and the new name/branding has been very well received. The hard launch is scheduled for spring 2025. Along with the hard launch, the new website will be launched and will be split into two phases. The second phase will enable a log-in feature to improve the user experience, enhance security settings (i.e. restrictions for over 18s content) but also to enable BSLBT to gauge a better understanding of our audience's demographic and what they like to watch. The revamped app will also be released in phase 2.

With the new brand and name underway, we will use it as an opportunity to reach out to stakeholders and to organise a 'road show', visiting our stakeholders to communicate our new direction but also the importance of their contribution and the positive impact it has on the deaf community. We will also use this as an opportunity to start discussions with stakeholders about the contracts we have with them with the view of improving our slot to increase visibility. This will happen in 2025.

LumoTV Logo

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Stronger presence at festivals

To raise the Trust's profile and visibility, the management team have been working closely with festivals, both deaf and mainstream, to ensure that BSLBT has a presence. At the Media & Entertainment Service Alliance, attended by hundreds, BSLBT delivered a panel discussion about the up-and-coming subtitles training initiative. It was so well received that they have asked BSLBT to attend again with an update in a year's time. In April, some of BSLBT's team went to the inaugural SignLight festival in Los Angeles. It was a fantastic networking experience and some new partnerships have formed since, raising BSLBT's profile on an international level. BSLBT also attended Deaffest in May where we had a double stall and sponsored Deaffest again, which raised our profile, and provided live social media coverage of the Deaffest Awards ceremony, where we won 5 awards. Shortly after Deaffest, BSLBT went to Clin D'Oeil in June where we had a stall but also participated in panel discussions and presented some of the awards. This was the first time in Clin D'Oeil's history that BSLBT had attended and it did wonders for our profile. In June also, Camilla participated in a panel discussion at the world-famous Sheffield DocFest, which presented more networking opportunities for BSLBT. Last, but not least, members of the team were invited by Døve Media, who we had met at SignLight, to participate in panel discussions as part of a wider event to celebrate the screening of the first deaf feature film in Norway in November.

Social Media Followers

In 2024, the Trust continued to focus its communications on engaging with our core deaf audience online. Social media followers continued to grow, particularly on Instagram. See Table 3 below:

Social media 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020
Facebook followers 52k 50k 46k 45k 41k
Twitter followers 10k 10k 9k 9k 9k
Mailchimp newsletter sign-ups 3.4k 3k 3k 3k 3k
Instagram followers 19k 15k 10k 8k 7k
TikTok Likes 26k 10k - - -
TikTok followers 2.8k 2k - - -

Table 3: Social media followers 2020-2024

As part of the communications and distribution strategy, there are plans to set up a social media contents creation team to grow our follows across all our social media platforms which, in turn, will grow the audience figures for our programmes. Our new Creative Lead started in November 2024 and will be spearheading this, alongside the Head of Communications and Distribution, in 2025.

Television Transmission

In 2024, the BSL Zone maintained its television transmission slots on Film4 on Monday mornings at 0800, and on the Together TV on Monday evenings. See Table 4 below:

Channel Day Time slot
Film4 Monday 0800
Together TV Monday 1900
Together TV Monday 2200

Table 4: Broadcast slots for BSL Zone

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

BSLBT also makes its programmes available online through its website www.bslzone.co.uk and app. BSL Zone programmes can be viewed on the BSL Zone website via a video player called Wistia. In 2024, there are now over 1.3 million plays in total to date, according to Wistia stats. Table 5 shows the 10 most viewed programmes; some old favourites remain popular (please note that the older programmes have more plays because of their longevity. BSLBT are looking at new ways of measuring quantitative data linked to view figures for a more accurate picture of popularity from 2025 onwards).

Top 10 viewed programmes DateFirstBroadcast
TheEnd 2011
History of Deaf Education 2011
Zoom:Confession 2012
Deaf Funny 2018
Evolutionof BSL 2012
TreeFairy 2013
Small World 2015
Four Deaf Yorkshiremengo toBlackpool 2014
Signs of Affair 2017
Reverberations 2018

Table 5: Most-watched programmes on the BSL Zone website of all time

The BSL Zone app, which is available for iOS, Android and Fire OS, allows viewers to watch BSL Zone programmes on their mobile devices. It was downloaded 5037 times in 2024, bringing the total number of app downloads to almost 35k to date (Actual downloads from 2017, to end of 2024 is: 34,335).

In 2024, BSL Zone programmes were viewed and/or downloaded on the app 69,790 times. Our latest programmes tend to be more popular on the app. The top ten programmes viewed on the app are shown below:

Deaf Funny: Programme 1 - 1401 views Coffee Morning Club: Episode 1 - 1224 views CODA & Proud - 1166 views This Is Deaf: Mental Health 2024 - 1163 views Deaf Funny: Programme 2 - 1094 views This Is Deaf: LGBT History Month 2024 - 1070 views Sign2Win Series 3: Episode 1 - 1064 views Sign2Win Series 3: Episode 4 - 1036 views Sign2Win Series 3: Episode 8 - 1020 views Step Up: Ready To Drive - 979 views

Exhibitions & Events

The Audience Development Team has been actively engaging with diverse audiences through various exhibitions and external events:

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE

In January 2024, it was announced to staff that as the organisation has grown from a small team to a medium sized team, there is a need to review and update the structure to ensure that it remains effective and delivers for the organisation and our service users. There's also the need to future proof BSLBT with the Media Bill being introduced in parliament, more sign language content being produced by other platforms and the rise of video on demand streaming services. There is also the need, as part of 'future proofing' the organisation, to explore other revenue and exploit new opportunities as BSLBT cannot rely solely on Ofcom.

Within the current structure, several risks were identified by Beryl Hobson, an external governance consultant:

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

A new structure was designed to address the risks and in April 2024, the organisation's restructure was successfully completed, with guidance from our HR advisors. A new senior management team was formed with Camilla Arnold (Chief Executive), Caroline Fearon (Deputy Chief Executive) and Rhiannon Nash (Head of Production). In June 2024, Ashley Kendall joined the SMT as Head of Communication and Distribution. The Executive Producers, Cathy Heffernan, Julian Peedle-Calloo and Charlie Swinbourne became Commissioners of their respective genres as it was felt that 'Commissioners' is a clear title that is more in line with the mainstream industry. Jen Clarke went from Operations Administrator to Distribution Executive to support the newly formed communications and distribution team.

Several new posts were created and filled to ensure that the Trust operates to the maximum efficiency: Jo Whyte (Governance Manager), Leigh-Ann Webster (PA to SMT and Trustees), Phoebe Capewell (Creative Lead), Beth Kelly (Audience Engagement Officer). Charlie Swinbourne left the Trust in the summer of 2024 and was replaced by Philip Dodds as Drama Commissioner.

The Commissioning team now comprises of a Head of Production, three Commissioners and two Production Executives. There is also a Business Affairs Executive to support with the legal side of commissioning.

The Deputy Chief Executive's core team now comprises of a PA to the SMT and Trustees, Finance Officer and a Governance Manager.

The Communications and Distribution Team is made up of a Head of Communications and Distribution, Audience Engagement Manager, Creative Lead and two Audience Engagement Officers.

BSLBT staff's base remains at WeWork but the staff have moved to two new offices- one for the SMT and one for the rest of the staff. BSLBT also have part-time share of a meeting room space to drive down the credits used for meeting rooms.

In spring of 2024, a new HR system, YouManage was rolled out to streamline the process of booking leave, monitoring sick leave/absences, to perform appraisals and keep track of personal objectives. This was well received by the staff.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy

The Trust also created and implemented its first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy. We welcomed two new Trustees- Abigail Gorman and Moona Mohammed- both to be huge assets to the Board in our drive to promote diversity on and off screen. BSL lessons are now offered to all staff and trustees. All staff are now taking annual online unconscious bias training with ScreenSkills and Creative Diversity Network's (CDN) Doubling Disability 101 Workshops. The Deputy Chief Executive represents BSLBT on the CDN board. The Head of Production also attends CDN meetings on behalf of BSLBT. The Head of Production also attended the TV Access Project (TAP) Disability Inclusion event at UKTV in June and was able to feedback to the management the best practices with regards to disability inclusion across the industry. The TAP toolkit was also shared with wider BSLBT team. The management team also made diversity requirements more explicit in the commissioning process. In the 2024 Commissioning round we have for the first time specified on the form for diverse representation both behind and in front of camera. We targeted production companies with diverse leadership and who actively champion EDI. There was an emphasis within factual productions and development projects that we want to see an ever more diverse range of contributors, presenters, and topics (but not at the risk of tokenism). We also continued to emphasise the need for diverse characters in our dramas and storylines (but not at the risk of tokenism). Last, but not least, we provided a communication support fund for any member of the deaf crew or talent on each production where Access to Work is not available for them. We allowed budgets to include additional travel and accommodation costs of hiring deaf crew, as opposed to locally based crew when filming on location.

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

In light of our ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and safety, the Trust updated the protocols for crew recruitment on our commissioned productions in July 2024. With immediate effect, we required each crew member to sign a self-declaration form confirming that they do not have any criminal records other than motoring convictions, any sanctions relating to their conduct, and will not engage in any behaviour that could compromise the safeguarding of individuals working on our commissions or impair the reputation of BSLBT, the programme itself, or the production house. This update resulted from a comprehensive review of our protocols with a working group, comprised of members of the Board and also in consultation with our lawyer. This is in response to the fact the deaf community is very small and we must do everything we can to protect individuals working on our commissions. This protocol update also coincides with the growth of our management team at BSLBT and our new leadership. The protocols will be reviewed regularly.

BSLBT's staff received several training courses on Resilience, Creativity as well as the Insights Discovery Colour energies which has helped to foster a stronger and closer working ethos in the team.

Governance

In February 2024, Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq's term ended after seven and a half years. The Board would like to thank Rubbena for her contribution to the Trust over the years and wish her all the best.

The Nominations Committee, supported by the Chief Executive, ran a thorough recruitment campaign for a new Trustee. The Nominations Committee recommended not one but two Trustees, on the assertion that both have a lot to bring to the Board. Abigail Gorman and Moona Mohammed started their term in February 2024.

In April 2024, Chris Higgs, who has been a Trustee since 2018, was elected by the Board to become vice Chair to support Jeff McWhinney and Camilla Arnold in the governance of BSLBT. In June 2024, Jo Whyte became the Governance Manager for BSLBT, with the aim of strengthening the Trust's governance but also to review and implement new policies.

In spring 2024's Away Day, Semhar Beyene was the facilitator, making her the first deaf facilitator for BSLBT's Away Day. At the Away Day, the Board kick started the rebranding process, with a presentation from Ravi Vasavan and a discussion followed on what they wanted from the trading name. The key takeaways were:

BSLBT's new vision, mission and values was also reviewed and approved. BSLBT's new vision, mission and values was later rolled out in July 2024.

Vision

The go-to place for fresh, diverse and innovative content that celebrates and connects with the deaf and sign language communities.

Values

To guide our work and how we work with people inside and outside of BSLBT, our values are:

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Mission

To work towards our Vision, the Board agree on the following Mission for each of the operational areas. Each area will have a strategic plan that is fleshed out:

COMMISSIONING:

MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE:

COMMUNICATIONS & DISTRIBUTION

There was also a review of BSLBT's target audience to ensure that we broaden our viewers which, in turn, will raise awareness of sign language and the deaf community. This will help to tackle the social exclusion of deaf people, which is at the heart of what we do. Diagram 6 below shows our new target audience:

Diagram 6: Target Audience 2024

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

In December 2023 Board meeting it was raised that it was important to look at long-term plans and other sources of income for BSLBT, given the changing media landscape with the forthcoming Media Bill and that BSLBT currently have a single stream of revenue via Ofcom's Television Access Code.

The Chair and vice Chair took legal advice from Withers and financial advice from Knox Cropper and looked at how revenue could be raised. It was established that in order to protect charitable status, a separate trading arm is required. This could earn, invest and borrow money to create a profitable business but with all profits being fed back to the charity. The Board unanimously agreed to formalise plans to action. Throughout 2024 a working group, chaired by Chris Higgs, have been working through options for the trading subsidiary.

Finally, the Board would like to thank the programme-makers, participants in programmes and all BSL Zone viewers - as well as the dedicated staff team -- for their engagement and involvement. And they also wish to thank the broadcaster subscribers, who created BSLBT in partnership with the deaf community, for their continuing support.

Page 14

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Principal funding sources

BSLBT was set up in 2008 as an alternative way for independent broadcasters to meet their regulatory duty to provide programming in British Sign Language (BSL). Independent broadcasters with between 0.05% and 1% of audience share can choose either to source and broadcast programmes presented in sign language themselves or to contribute to BSLBT to make programmes in sign language for the Deaf audience.

In May 2015 Ofcom published the outcome of its Review of Signing Arrangements for Relevant TV channels, asking whether the amount of signed programming on low audience channels should be increased, and if channels that choose to pay alternative contributions should increase the amount they pay over time. They concluded that the amount of signing on low audience channels should increase over time and that channels choosing to pay alternative contributions should increase the amount they pay over time. Ofcom's full statement can be found at:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-2/review-signing-arrangements-tv. This meant that the BSLBT subscription level for 2016 rose to £24,500 per channel to take account of inflation since 2009, and since 2017 there have been further increases to match the equivalent rises in the amount of signed programming per channel.

In 2024 62 channels [2023: 68] in total subscribed to BSLBT, making the total income from broadcasters £4,100k [2023: £4,135k]. Ofcom increased 2024 subscriptions by 9.1% (Consumer Price Index from June 2022). There was an additional £28k injection to the income because of the Lloyds Bank term deposit interest.

Overview of the financial results

The statement of financial activities shows income of £4.41m (2023: £4.36m) and expenditure on charitable activities of £4.29m (2023: £4.05m), giving a net surplus of £120k. (2023: £310k). All funds are unrestricted and at the balance sheet date these stood at £2.15m (2023: £2.03m) These funds are in the form of net current assets.

Included in the income was broadcaster contributions of £4.1m; Access to Work income (reimbursed expenditure on BSL interpreters) of £262k and other income of £17k. Expenditure of £4.29m for the year included £262k of interpreter costs that were reimbursed under the Access to Work scheme (see above). The residual expenditure of £4m was spent on commissioning at 67% (2023: 69.5%), management and governance 19% (2023: 17%) and communications and distribution 14% (2023: 13.5%).

Investment policy and objectives

The Finance & Audit committee seeks to maximise the return on cash held during the year with the need to protect the capital. The current policy is that the reserve, and any cash sums available for shorter terms due to high balances at certain times of year, will be invested with the best interest rates available from the charity's bank.

Reserves policy

Total reserves at 31[st] December 2024 were £2.1M, of which £600k were designated, leaving £1.5M undesignated funds. The Board of Trustees and senior management continue to review the charity's unrestricted reserves in the light of the main risks and strategic requirements of the organisation. The Board considers that the undesignated reserve levels to cover the main risks should represent no more than three months of charitable expenditure (approximately £1M). At 31st December 2024, the undesignated reserves were £1.5M, which represents approximately 4.6 months of charitable expenditure. However, as part of the Board's strategy to expand the charitable activities of the organisation, capital expenditure will be required to fund investment and development of Deaf programmes. Consequently, the trustees anticipate utilising the surplus reserves to fund this over the next two to three years before the investment can make a return, both in terms of the achievement of its charitable objects and financially.

Fundraising policy

BSLBT does not engage in any direct fundraising from members of the public and does not employ fundraisers. The trustees are however aware of the new fundraising requirements and the code of fundraising practice and ensure that the charity is compliant with the code in all its fundraising activities.

Page 15

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Principal risks and uncertainties

The organisational Risk Register is reviewed regularly by the Finance & Audit Committee and reported at Board meetings. In 2024 risk management primarily focussed on the incoming Media Bill, lack of deaf talent to make our programmes and how because Ofcom subscriptions will only rise by a back-dated CPI related formula and income is likely to flatten so the Trust needs to maintain stability across the organisation and futureproof the organisation.

FUTURE PLANS

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governing document

The charity constitutes a company limited by guarantee as defined by the Companies Act 2006 and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

The British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust was set up in 2008 as an alternative way for independent broadcasters to meet their regulatory duty to provide programming in British Sign Language. For more information: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/signing/statement/plain/

BSLBT was initially established as a private company, with a Board of Directors drawn in equal numbers from the broadcasting world and from the Deaf community. In January 2012 it achieved charitable status, retaining the commitment to an equal mix of Deaf and hearing trustees.

Arrangements for setting pay and remuneration of the charity’s key management pe

The charity's policy is to pay senior management according to their expertise and experience. Senior managements' benefit package comprises a basic salary and pension. Basic salaries are reviewed annually against the charity sector as well as the wider professional market and information is presented to the trustees for their approval. No member of the senior management team can make a decision on their own pay.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The Nominations Committee, a sub-committee of the Trustee Board of BSLBT, ensures that the Board and its sub-committees have the right balance of skills and ability to enable BSLBT to carry out its work effectively. It takes delegated responsibility for recommending all new trustees to the Board and re-appointment of Trustees retiring by rotation and eligible for re-appointment.

Page 16

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Organisational structure and how decisions are made

At the end of 2024 the Board consisted of five deaf and four hearing people, including the Chair. The Trustees have four Board meetings per year plus an annual Strategic Awayday. The Board delegates the day-to-day running of the charity to the Chief Executive and staff. At its annual Awayday it reviews aspects of the strategic business plan and considers annual objectives, and then monitors progress through quarterly reports at Board meetings. In 2024, all Board meetings and the annual Awayday took place in person.

The Board maintains closer scrutiny of three key areas through its committees:

The Chair leads the organisation with the support of the vice Chair, working with the Chief Executive. At the end of 2024 there were 17 permanent members of staff. (NB there were 15 members of staff on the payroll in December 2023 and 16 in December 2022).

Induction and training of new trustees

It is the charity's policy to provide appropriate induction and training for all trustees to enable them to contribute effectively to the governance of the organisation. They are also made aware of their statutory obligations as trustees and provided with opportunities for further training as they deem necessary.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Company number

06632452 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1145249

Registered office

153 -155 London Road Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire HP3 9SQ

Trustees

J McWhinney Chair Ms R Aurangzeb-Tariq Trustee (resigned 1.4.24) C Higgs Trustee Ms B Robinson Trustee Ms S Dougherty Trustee (resigned 1.4.24) Ms E Rowlands Trustee Ms J Sykes Trustee G Pierssene Trustee R A Cobb Trustee Ms M Mohammed Trustee (appointed 1.4.24) Ms A Gorman Trustee (appointed 1.4.24)

Auditors

Godfrey Wilson Ltd 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince St Bristol BS1 4QD

Page 17

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Report of the Trustees for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Advisers

Knox Cropper LLP Chartered Accountants 153-155 London Road Hemel Hempstead Herts. HP3 9SQ

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with 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).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which 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 charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. 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.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial 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.

AUDITORS

The auditors, Godfrey Wilson Ltd, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 10 July 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

....... ~~..~~ . ~~..~~ ..................................................... J McWhinney - Trustee

Page 18

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation 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).

In our opinion the financial statements:

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 the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does 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.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise 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 the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that 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:

Page 19

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust

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 Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and 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 to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable 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.

Page 20

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors 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 the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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 procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:

(1) We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of non-compliance.

(2) We reviewed the charity's policies and procedures in relation to:

(3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.

(4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.

(5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

(6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.

(7) We assessed the risk of fraud through management override of controls and carried out procedures to address this risk. Our procedures included:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

Page 21

Report of the Independent Auditors to the Members of British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust

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. 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 auditors' 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.

Robert Wilson FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Godfrey Wilson Ltd 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince St Bristol BS1 4QD

Date: 10 July 2025

Page 22

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Statement of Financial Activities (Incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account) for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Notes
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Charitable activities
3
Broadcasting of sign-presented media
Investment income
2
Total
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable activities
4
Broadcasting of sign-presented media
NET INCOME
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 2024
Unrestricted
funds
£
4,378,790
27,972
4,406,762
4,287,239
119,523
2,027,683
2,147,206		 2023
Total
funds
£
4,335,547
27,169
4,362,716
4,053,308
309,408
1,718,275
2,027,683

CONTINUING OPERATIONS

All income and expenditure of the charity for the above financial years relates to continuing operations and unrestricted funds.

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 23

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST (REGISTERED NUMBER: 06632452)

Balance Sheet 31 December 2024

Notes
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets
10
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
11
Investments
12
Cash at bank
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year
13
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES
NET ASSETS/(LIABILITIES)
FUNDS
14
Unrestricted funds
TOTAL FUNDS		 2024
Unrestricted
funds
£
-
3,869,310
1,010,924
1,732,702
6,612,936
(4,465,730)
2,147,206
2,147,206
2,147,206
2,147,206
2,147,206		 2023
Total
funds
£
-
4,054,108
1,000,000
2,085,425
7,139,533
(5,111,850)
2,027,683
2,027,683
2,027,683
2,027,683
2,027,683

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 10 July 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

Chris Higgs

............................................. C Higgs - Trustee

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 24

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Cash Flow Statement for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
1
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of current asset investments
Sale of current asset investments
Interest received
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents
in the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the
beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end
of the reporting period		 2024
£
(386,911)
(386,911)
(1,010,924)
1,000,000

45,112
34,188
(352,723)
2,085,425
**1,732,702 **		 2023
£
274,351
274,351
(1,000,000)
1,000,000
20,113
20,113
294,464
1,790,961
2,085,425

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 25

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Cash Flow Statement for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

1. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of
Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Interest received
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
(Decrease)/increase in creditors
Net cash (used in)/provided by operations		 2024
£
119,523
(45,112)
184,798
(646,120)
(386,911)		 2023
£
309,408
(20,113)
(461,548)
446,604
274,351

2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

Net cash
Cash at bank
Liquid resources
Current asset investments
Total		 At 1.1.24
£
2,085,425
2,085,425
1,000,000
1,000,000
3,085,425		 Cash flow
£
(352,723)
(352,723)
10,924
10,924
(341,799)		 At 31.12.24
£
1,732,702
1,732,702
1,010,924
1,010,924
2,743,626

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 26

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Going Concern

Following a review of forecasts and projections, the trustees are satisfied that the charity will continue operations for the foreseeable future and hence the accounts have been drawn up on a going concern basis. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. In relation to the charity's specific revenue channels:

(i) Channel contributions are ordinarily invoiced annually in advance for the financial year (see note 13).

(ii) Access to work and other income is accounted for in the provision of the service.

(iii) Investment income, which is deposit interest, is accounted for on an accruals basis.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

In relation to commissioned programmes, expenditure is recognised in the accounts over the contractual period in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Where commissioned programmes are incomplete at the end of the financial year, appropriate adjustments are made for material timing differences between contractual payments made and the value of work undertaken on the commissioned programme at the balance sheet date.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Computer equipment - 25% on cost

Assets that amount to less than £5,000, either individually or for groups of related assets, are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year of acquisition.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Designated funds are those set aside by the Trustees from unrestricted funds to meet future projects.

Page 27

continued...

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Financial instruments

The charity only has basic financial instruments. Accordingly, debtors, creditors and cash at bank are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at settlement value. Cash at bank includes cash and highly liquid investments with a maturity date of three months or less.

Current asset investments

Current asset investments comprise term deposits held with financial institutions where the capital is not at risk. These have been recorded at transaction value. Interest on these is accounted for on an accruals basis.

2. INVESTMENT INCOME

3.

Deposit account interest
INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Activity
Channel contributions
Broadcasting of sign-presented media
Access to Work income
Broadcasting of sign-presented media
Other income
Broadcasting of sign-presented media		 2024
£
27,972
2024
£
4,100,093
261,589
17,108
4,378,790		 2023
£
27,169
2023
£
4,134,692
199,505
1,350		 2023
£
27,169
4,335,547

4.

CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Broadcasting of sign-presented
media		 Direct
Costs (see
note 5)
£
3,777,577		 Support
costs (see
note 6)
£
**509,662 **		 Totals
£
4,287,239

Page 28

continued...

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

5. DIRECT COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Staff costs (see note 9)
Content
Distribution costs
Programming asset management
Legal fees (Programming)
Website
Promotion and marketing
Interpreters
Travel & subsistence
Exchange rate variance
Research
Training on programmes
Talent management		 2024
£
1,024,249
2,029,485
122,363
13,687
32,204
66,438
170,719
261,589
3,433
-
2,450
14,997
35,963
3,777,577		 2023
£
1,022,711
2,110,496
105,694
20,513
37,098
37,562
88,331
199,505
5,122
14
79,798
-
-
3,706,844

6. SUPPORT COSTS

Management
£
Broadcasting of sign-presented media
496,311		 Governance
costs
£
**13,351 **		 Totals
£
**509,662 **

Support costs, included in the above, are as follows:

Management

2024
Broadcasting
of
sign-presented
media
£
Insurance
6,567
Telephone
4,730
Postage and stationery
10,642
Sundries
3,376
Travelling and subsistence
8,824
Computer and IT support costs
48,035
Room hire and rental costs
87,131
Staff training
37,677
Interpreters
125,558
Legal and professional fees
43,363
Accountancy
27,870
Bank charges
566
Recruitment
9,008
Branding & Restructuring
82,964
496,311		 2023
Total
activities
£
5,349
4,634
2,940
3,942
5,073
52,269
125,179
26,089
57,448
17,694
28,530
433
4,206
-
333,786

Page 29

continued...

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

6. SUPPORT COSTS - continued Governance costs

2024
Broadcasting
of
sign-presented
media
£
Trustees' expenses
2,251
Auditors' remuneration
6,600
Accountancy and legal fees
4,500
**13,351 **		 2023
Total
activities
£
3,278
6,900
2,500
12,678

7. NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

Auditors' remuneration (excluding VAT)
Under accrual of 2022 audit fee		 2024
£
6,600
-
6,600		 2023
£
6,250
650
6,900

8. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 December 2024 nor for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Trustees' expenses

Trustees' expenses 2024
£
**2,251 **		 2023
£
3,278

The number of trustees in receipt of expenses was 4 (2023: 8). Expenses were in relation to travel and subsistence to trustees' meetings.

9. STAFF COSTS

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs		 2024
£
889,580
99,161
35,508
1,024,249		 2023
£
885,400
97,596
39,715
1,022,711

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

Production and outreach
Administration		 2024
11
5
16		 2023
13
4
17

Page 30

continued...

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

9. STAFF COSTS - continued

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

£60,001 - £70,000
£70,001 - £80,000
£80,001 - £90,000
£90,001 - £100,000
£121,000 - £130,000		 2024
2
2
-
1
1
6		 2023
3
1
1
1
-
6

Remuneration (including employer's National Insurance and employer's pension costs) paid to senior management amounted to £391,361 (2023: £360,666).

10. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

COST
At 1 January 2024
Disposals
At 31 December 2024
DEPRECIATION
At 1 January 2024
Eliminated on disposal
At 31 December 2024
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023
DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade debtors
Other debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 2024
£
3,737,870
107,094
24,346
3,869,310		 Computer
equipment
£
1,666
(1,666)
-
1,666
(1,666)
-
-
-
2023
£
3,966,354
43,933
43,821
4,054,108

11. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

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continued...

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

12. CURRENT ASSET INVESTMENTS

12.
CURRENT ASSET INVESTMENTS
Term deposits with financial institutions
13.
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
Trade creditors
Social security and other taxes
VAT
Other creditors
Deferred income
Accrued expenses		 2024
£
1,010,924
2024
£
44,500
28,758
559,544
12,108
3,676,978
143,842
4,465,730		 2023
£
1,000,000
2023
£
250,035
23,106
665,511
5,208
4,025,258
142,732
5,111,850

Deferred income represents channel contributions invoiced in advance for the subsequent year. Included in charitable income for the year to 31 December 2024 is deferred income of £4,025,258 included within creditors at 31 December 2023. Included in charitable income for the year to 31 December 2025 will be deferred income of £3,676,978 included within creditors at 31 December 2024.

14. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Net
movement
At 1.1.24
in funds
£
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
1,345,788
119,523
Programme fund
681,895
-
2,027,683
119,523
TOTAL FUNDS
2,027,683
119,523
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
Incoming
resources
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
4,406,762
TOTAL FUNDS
**4,406,762 **		 Transfers
between
funds
£
89,194
(89,194)
-
-
Resources
expended
£
(4,287,239)
**(4,287,239) **		 At
31.12.24
£
1,554,505
592,701
2,147,206
2,147,206
Movement
in funds
£
119,523
119,523

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BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

14. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Comparatives for movement in funds

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Programme fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.1.23
£
1,464,624
253,651
1,718,275
1,718,275		 Net
movement
in funds
£
309,408
-
309,408
309,408		 Transfers
between
funds
£
(428,244)
428,244
-
-		 At
31.12.23
£
1,345,788
681,895
2,027,683
2,027,683

Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
4,362,716
4,362,716		 Resources
expended
£
(4,053,308)
(4,053,308)		 Movement
in funds
£
309,408
309,408

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined position is as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
Programme fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 At 1.1.23
£
1,464,624
253,651
1,718,275
1,718,275		 Net
movement
in funds
£
428,931
-
428,931
428,931		 Transfers
between
funds
£
(339,050)
339,050
-
-		 At
31.12.24
£
1,554,505
592,701
2,147,206
2,147,206

A current year 12 months and prior year 12 months combined net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
£
8,769,478
8,769,478		 Resources
expended
£
(8,340,547)
(8,340,547)		 Movement
in funds
£
428,931
428,931

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continued...

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE BROADCASTING TRUST

Notes to the Financial Statements - continued for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

14. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued

Designated funds

Programme fund - represents funds assigned by the Trustees for the production of ongoing programmes.

Transfers between funds

Transfers between funds represent the movement in the year end level of funds assigned by the trustees for future programmes.

15. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for either the current or prior period, other than those disclosed in note 8 to these accounts.

16. MEMBERS

British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee, having no share capital. Its members are the directors of the company. In accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association, every member is liable to contribute a sum of £1 in the event of the company being wound up.

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