CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1195934
COMMUNITY ADVICE SERVICE
Annual Report and Accounts
For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2026
The Community Advice Service is established for the promotion of charitable purposes for the benefit of the Migrant Communities in the administrative area of the Black Country (Sandwell, Walsall, Dudley, and Wolverhampton) by the advancement of citizenship, culture, education and health, and promotion of racial harmony and the relief of poverty and financial hardship.
1 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026
Administrative Information
| Founded | | 6 February 2014 |
|---|---|---|
| Charity Registered: | | 27 September 2021 |
| Organisation Type | | Community Intertest Organisation CIO |
| Management Committee | |
Mazher Hussain (Chairman) |
| 2022-2023 | | Anamur Choudhury (Treasurer) |
| | Sunara Bibi (Secretary) | |
| Central Office | | Lodge Youth & Community Centre |
| Lodge Road, West Bromwich | ||
| B70 8PJ | ||
| Insurance | | HISCOX (14619714) |
| Banker | | HSBC SC 40-45-19 AC 72634007 |
| Contact | | 07375635745 / 0121 553 1820 |
| Website | | www.communityadviceservice.com |
| | info@communityadviceservice.com |
Contents
| [1] | Statement of Management Committees | 3 |
|---|---|---|
| [2] | Management Committees Report | 3 |
| [3] | Independent Examiner's Report | 6 |
| [4] | Movement in Funds | 7 |
| [5] | Charity Balance Sheet | 8 |
| [6] | Income Generation Plan | 8 |
2 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026
Annual Report 2025 - 2026
Report of the Management Committee for the Year Ended 31[st] March 2026
[1] Statement of Management Committees Responsibilities
The Management Committee members are responsible for preparing the report of the Management Committee in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards requiring the members to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the organisation and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, for that period.
[2] Management Committees Report
History
On 6th February 2014, a public meeting was held by a group of migrant communities with the aim of establishing an advice service that would meet their advice, information and guidance AIG needs. The group discussed the challenges of getting adequate AIG and decided that what is needed is ‘a user led advice service’. Subsequently, members decided to form the Community Advice Service CAS and elected a user led committee. As a gesture of support, Lodge Road Community & Youth Centre provided the use of its premises. Delivered through expert volunteers, in 2017, CAS was recognised by Channel S (a migrant media) News for high achievement in supporting the migrant communities in the Black Country www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwHcasv9AIw. In 2018, CAS was Awarded ‘Runner Up’ trophy for ‘Outstanding Partnership Work’ across the West Bromwich Town in Sandwell.
Objectives
The Community Advice Service has been established for the promotion of charitable purposes for the benefit of the Migrant Communities in the administrative area of the Black Country (Sandwell, Walsall, Dudley, and Wolverhampton) by the advancement of citizenship, culture, education and health, & promotion of racial harmony and the relief of poverty and financial hardship. According to the United Nations, a Migrant is someone who changes their country of usual residence for a period of at least a year, so that the country of destination effectively becomes the country of usual residence.
Migrant Communities in the Black Country
The Black Country is part of the wider West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), one of the most diverse areas in the UK. Almost half of local young people under 24 come from ethnic minority backgrounds. The region has welcomed families from South Asian, African, Caribbean and Eastern European communities over many decades, and these communities now play a big part in local life.
Across the WMCA, people come from many different backgrounds: around 23% Asian, 8% Black, 4% Mixed heritage and 3% from other groups. Large Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities live across the region, with more than 72,000 Bangladeshi residents in the West Midlands. Many people speak languages other than English at home. Of the 372,000 residents whose main language is not English, most speak English well or very well, but some need extra support with everyday communication. Migrant communities in the Black Country are generally younger, with many families ‑ having school age children especially in Sandwell and Wolverhampton. At the same time, some communities face challenges such as higher unemployment, insecure work, language barriers, digital exclusion and difficulties accessing services. These issues reflect wider inequalities seen across the region in employment, health and housing.
3 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026
Despite these challenges, migrant communities make a huge contribution to the Black Country. They help local businesses grow, especially in retail, hospitality and small enterprises. They strengthen community life through mosques, temples, churches and cultural centres. They bring vibrancy through arts, food, festivals and sports like cricket, football and martial arts. Newer migration patterns include families arriving from Eastern Europe, refugees resettling from Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan, and growing African communities, particularly Nigerian and Somali families. This has led to more multilingual households over 10% of WMCA homes speak more than one main language, higher than the national average. Overall, the Black Country is home to diverse, dynamic and youthful migrant communities. They enrich the region culturally and economically, while also facing barriers that need to be addressed. Understanding these experiences helps local organisations design services and community programmes that are welcoming, culturally aware and responsive to people’s needs.
Governance and Management
Community Advice Service is a Community Interest Organisation CIO registered with the Charity Commission for England & Wale (1195934). The Trustees, who served during the year and up to the date of signature of this financial statement are: Mazher Hussain appointed on 20[th] April 2021, Sunara Bibi appointed 20[th] April 2021 and Anamur Choudhury appointed on 8[th] February 2022.
Independent Needs Assessment & Evaluation
At the end of the first year, CAS commissioned Marilyn Burrill Consultancy to produce an Independent Evaluation of its services. The evaluation concluded that: “Although CAS has had very limited funding, it has made an excellent start in providing an inclusive, efficient and effective advice service. It meets the requirements of Sandwell Advice Providers Network Service Standards….and the 21 Design Criteria produced by the Department of Health for sustainable User-Led Organisations.” CAS management also commissioned AdviceUK to produce an Independent Assessment of Advice Needs and CAS’s Capability. The Assessment concluded that: “The organisation is thoroughly rooted in the community; well connected with other local agencies and partners with whom it has mutual referral arrangements; is led by local needs and involves service users in its governance”.
4 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026
Services & Achievements
CAS supports an average 350 residents annually. In addition to providing Advice Information and Guidance services, CAS also supports service users to enhance their economic and social prospects through providing access to free skills & employability, healthy living, community capacity building, cultural and cohesion activities. Following are the list of core services delivered during 2025-2026 FY.
| Projects | Service Description |
|---|---|
| Migrant Community Advice Club The project supports migrant families by providing advice on debt management, benefit entitlements and employability, while also connecting them to financial support programmes offered by local & central government, as well as community resources such as Food Banks and Warm Hubs. |
|
| Well Women’s Club The project supports migrant women to improve their physical and mental health, and strengthen their community connections, by taking part in free sports and physical activity sessions. These sessions help women get into shape, build overall strength and flexibility, have fun and enjoy socialising together. |
|
| Migrant Buyer Beware Club The project delivered product safety advice to low-income migrant families reliant on buying second-hand goods, reaching over 750 people through workshops and events, distributing 1,500 multilingual safety guides, providing direct support to 324 individuals/training 10 community Safety Champions to sustain awareness.’ |
|
| Safe Homes, Strong Communities Club The project delivered a culturally tailored awareness‑raising initiative to improve electrical safety knowledge among BAME households in Sandwell. It trained Community Safety Ambassadors, ran interactive electricity‑safety workshops, launched a digital campaign, and distributed “Safety in a Bag” packs containing multilingual information leaflets. |
|
| Migrant Employment Club The project supported job seekers with job search, CV update, completing job application forms, job interview, and volunteering. Participants are guided by an Employment Potentials Framework- a journey to ensure that job seekers developed the confidence, knowledge, and skills to enter the job market. Sports2Work Club The project supported migrant young people and adults to take part in badminton, football and cricket, while also provided help with employability and opportunities to get organise community sports events. Arts and Culture Club The project supported establishment of the Pakistani Arts & Culture Association, enabling Pakistani migrants to reconnect with their arts and heritage in the UK. |
Our special thanks go to the funding agencies including National Lottery Community Fund, Witton Lodge Community Centre, UKII Programme, Electricity Safety Fund, National Grid Community Fund, and the Woodward Trust. This report is approved by order of the Management Committee and signed on its behalf by:
Mazher Hussain BA Hons Chairman. Wednesday 26[th] August 2026
5 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026
[3] Independent Examiner's Report
Responsibilities and basis of report
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Community Advice Service for the year ended 31/03/2023. As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the management committee concerning any such matters.
The procedure undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in a full audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
6 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026
[4] Movement in Funds
| Income | 2025 – 2026 |
|---|---|
| 1. National Lottery Community Fund 2. Witton Lodge Community Centre 3. UKII Programme – Second Hand Safety 4. Electricity Safety Fund 5. National Grid Community Fund 6. Sports2work 7. The Woodward Trust 8. Pakistani Arts & Cultural Association 9. Bangladeshi Regeneration Council |
£20000.00 £09995.00 £09922.00 £05000.00 £05000.00 £01248.00 £01000.00 £00514.00 £00500.00 |
| Total Income | £53179.00 |
| Expenditure | 2025 – 2026 |
| 1. Community Sessional Staff (7) | £28874.97 |
| 2. Community Engagement Events | £00800.00 |
| 3. Community Sports Activities | £02588.00 |
| 4. Community Volunteers | £00710.00 |
| 5. Community Venues | £03195.00 |
| 6. Design and Printing | £02080.00 |
| 7. Funding Consultant | £01197.60 |
| 8. Videography | £01846.00 |
| 9. Website | £00700.00 |
| 10. Insurance | £00092.40 |
| 11. Bank Fee | £00025.00 |
| Total Expense | £41108.97 |
| Surplus/Deficit | £12070.30 |
| BFF 2024-2025 | £00018.86 |
| Cash at Bank | £12089.16 |
7 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026
[5] Charity Balance Sheet
| BALANCE SHEET | 2025-2026 |
|---|---|
| Fixed assets Tangible assets |
None |
| current assets | |
| Debtors |
None |
| cash at Bank |
£12089.16 |
| Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Provisions for liabilities |
None |
| Net Assets |
£12089.16 |
| Total Funds Restricted Income Funds Unrestricted Income Funds |
£12070.30 £00018.86 |
| Total Funds Available on 1ST April 2026 | £12089.16 |
[6] INCOME GENERATION PLAN
8 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026
Mazher Hussain, Chairman with Oli Choudhury, CAS Founder/Manager
9 | CAS Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026