2025-04-05-accounts

TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT

World Bhangra Council (CIO) Registered charity number: 1183912 Reporting period: 06 April 2024 to 05 April 2025

Reference and administrative details

Charity name: World Bhangra Council Charity number: 1183912

Legal form: Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Foundation structure) Governing document: Constitution adopted 13 June 2019 Registered office: 4 Thornfield Avenue, Lockwood, Huddersfield, HD4 5HG Email: [e-mail] Telephone: [phone]

Trustees who served during the period

• Hardeep Singh Sahota, Chair

• Perwinder Samra, Trustee

• Mandip Kaur, Trustee

Structure, governance and management

World Bhangra Council is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with a foundation structure whose only voting members are its trustees. The trustees are responsible for overall governance, strategic direction, and oversight of the charity, ensuring the charity operates for the public benefit and in line with its constitution.

The charity is volunteer led. During the year, trustees focused on partnership building, organisational learning and developing future programme readiness, including building networks that support research, education and public engagement linked to Bhangra and wider South Asian cultural practice.

Objects

The objects of the CIO are:

1. To advance the education of the public in Bhangra by promoting, sustaining and increasing knowledge and understanding of Bhangra through continued research and practice.

2. To advance the art form of Bhangra and its associated heritage and culture through performance and in such other ways as the trustees consider appropriate.

Public benefit

The trustees confirm that they have had regard to Charity Commission guidance on public benefit when planning and reviewing activities. While the charity did not deliver a funded programme during the period, trustee activity supported public benefit by strengthening networks, learning, partnership development and cultural research capacity that will enable future public facing activity aligned to the charity’s objects.

Activities and achievements during the period

During the reporting period, the charity did not record income or expenditure due to no associated bank account. Trustees concentrated on organisational readiness and on strengthening the charity’s future delivery capacity through sector engagement, partnership development and research led practice.

Trustee led activity recorded as organisational learning and partnership development for World Bhangra Council included:

1. Kala Sangam Artist Advisory Group

Trustee engagement with the Kala Sangam Artist Advisory Group supported sector learning, practitioner voice and regional networking across South Asian arts. This strengthened the charity’s understanding of current practice, barriers to access and opportunities for future engagement and education programmes connected to Bhangra.

1. Rassam: Arts Council England supported programme exploring wedding practices and wellbeing.

Trustee involvement in the development of Rassam supported learning about South Asian wedding culture as heritage practice, with attention to wellbeing and mental health themes. This provided research and partnership insight relevant to the charity’s longer term aims around safeguarding, documentation and public education connected to cultural practice.

3. Lawrence Batley Theatre Community Ambassador programme

Trustee participation in the Lawrence Batley Theatre Community Ambassador programme supported relationship building and community engagement learning. This strengthened local partnership pathways and informed future approaches to access, inclusion and public participation for World Bhangra Council activity.

4. Bhangra Ceilidh at Cecil Sharp House, London

Trustee involvement in Bhangra Ceilidh activity supported organisational learning about accessible participation formats and intercultural presentation methods. Learning from this public facing work will inform future World Bhangra Council engagement approaches, particularly where activity aims to welcome new audiences into Bhangra practice.

5. International Commission: Art in the Landscape

Trustee led work connected to an international commission in the Republic of Ireland supported cross border partnership learning and the development of public programme relationships. This strengthened the charity’s international networks and contributed to practice-based research methods relevant to future heritage and engagement work.

Financial review

The charity had no income and no expenditure during the period. The trustees confirm that there were no restricted funds.

The trustees recognise the importance of strengthening financial infrastructure and intend to open a charity bank account to support future fundraising, partnership delivery and appropriate financial controls.

Reserves policy

Given the absence of income and expenditure during the period, the charity did not hold free reserves. The trustees will review a reserves policy once regular income and project delivery activity is established.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The trustees identify the following principal risks:

• Capacity risk, as delivery relies on volunteer time and availability

• Financial readiness risk, including the need for a charity bank account and basic financial processes

• Governance continuity risk, ensuring clear induction, documented decisions and secure record keeping

The trustees are addressing these risks through trustee recruitment and induction planning, strengthening administrative processes, and prioritising the steps needed to open a bank account.

Plans for the next period

The trustees’ priorities for the coming period are to:

• Strengthen governance through trustee induction, clear roles and documented decisions

• Build on partnership learning to develop public facing education, research and engagement activity

• Progress work that supports long term safeguarding ambitions, including research pathways connected to intangible cultural heritage recognition

CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Receipts and payments accounts CC16a Forthe perkd To Section A Recei ts and ments Unr•Btrt•d fvr th• nMr••l Lut> th• nMr••l£ n•arHt£ th• nMr••l£ A1R• Sub lotal(Gnss Incc¥ne I￿AR) AZ AsMt•nd hw•Blm•nt•ak••. Sub b)thi Tol•l F•Ewlpts AJP• m•rt• Sub ￿1•1 purchllB••.{B•• t•bl•l Sub totsl Nol of rnGelptsl(payTh•ntsi ASTr4n•hf• b•tw••nfund A6 Ca•h fvnd* l••t y•ar •nd Cash fvn¢Y8 th1& ￿r•n&

Se¢tion B Statement of assets and liabilitie5 a¢ the end of the period Endowrnint ￿t￿Y WJW•￿c Sigrejty bthtL alIt￿&￿i•￿S Pnnl Nam Dateofappmval

Approval: This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf.

Signed: Name: Hardeep Singh Sahota Role: Chair Date: 05/04/25