---
title: "Inner City Music Limited charity rating | CharityCompare"
description: "Is Inner City Music Limited a legitimate UK charity? Clarity Score 52/100. Accounts 2025: income £3.1m · 54% on charitable activities. Reg 516351."
source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/inner-city-music-limited
retrieved: 2026-08-18T02:52:11.079Z
license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0"
---

Quick answer

## Is Inner City Music Limited a good charity?

Inner City Music Limited scores 52/100 (2 stars, Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£3.1m total income, 54% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.

Manchester · UK-wide · M4 5JZ |
Reg [516351](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/inner-city-music-limited) | Registered charity | [Official website](https://www.bandonthewall.org/) | [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/516351)

Donate

## How can you give to INNER CITY MUSIC LIMITED?

You leave CharityCompare to complete a donation on the official INNER CITY MUSIC LIMITED form. We do not process payments or take commission. Opens their official online donation form.

[Donate](https://www.bandonthewall.org/?utm_source=charitycompare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=donate&utm_content=516351)

## What does Inner City Music Limited do?

Inner City Music Limited is a registered charity (no. 516351) working in arts & culture across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 54% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 0 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been growing (≈17% a year). CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.

Summarised from public filings — Inner City Music Limited hasn't added its own description yet. [Work here? Add it free →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/claim?charity=inner-city-music-limited)

**In short:** INNER CITY MUSIC LIMITED scores 52 out of 100 (2 stars). 54% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.

## What is Inner City Music Limited?

Inner City Music Limited has a Clarity Score of 52 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars, Poor). Charity Commission registration number 516351. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Arts & culture. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £3.1m, with 54% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 0 months of operating costs. 1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.

Data from [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/), last updated 17 July 2026.

Overall score

52/100

2★ · Poor

Cause spend

54%

3-yr avg · charitable activities

Accountability

93/100

Finance beacon

Income

£3.1m

Latest year 2025

Reserves

0 mo

Months of running costs

Accounts filing

On time

Charity Commission

£2.2 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) ·
46% overhead · Website on register ·
Confidence: high

## How does INNER CITY MUSIC LIMITED compare?

Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers INNER CITY MUSIC LIMITED scores higher than.

Income band (£1m–£5m)4thpercentile

**Scores higher than 4% of 2,776 charities in its income band** · 52/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).

Arts & culture charities4thpercentile

**Scores higher than 4% of 624 charities in this cause** · 52/100 vs 76 peer average (marker).

## How reliable is Inner City Music Limited's data?

Source

Charity Commission (England & Wales)

Accounts year

2025

Filing date

24 June 2026

Profile reviewed

17 July 2026

High confidence — complete filing data

Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources:
[Charity Commission for England and Wales](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/),
[Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator](https://www.oscr.org.uk/) and
[Charity Commission for Northern Ireland](https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/).
[Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).

## What is Inner City Music Limited's Beacon report?

Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.

### Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

93/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 100% | 15/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 7 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 70% | 7/10 pts |

### Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

43/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 0% | 0 months · 0/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth +20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between. | 90% | 9/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets 0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt. | 80% | 18% · 4/5 pts |

### Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

5/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 10% | 54% · 1/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 0% | 45p per £1 income · 0/10 pts (3-year average) |

### Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

10/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 10% | 8 volunteers / 75 staff · 1/10 pts |

[How we calculate beacon scores →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology)

## What is Inner City Music Limited's Clarity Score?

52/100 total · Poor · 2 of 5 stars

Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.

93/100

Accountability & Transparency

43/100

Financial Health

5/100

Financial Efficiency

10/100

Community Support

### Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

93/100

Filing history (5 years)15/15 pts

Trustee oversight7 trustees · 15/15 pts

Declared policies7/10 pts

### Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

43/100

Reserves (months of cash)0 months · 0/15 pts

Income stability / growth9/10 pts · 3-year average

Liabilities to assets18% · 4/5 pts

### Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

5/100

Program expense ratio54% · 1/10 pts (3-year average)

Fundraising efficiency45p per £1 income · 0/10 pts (3-year average)

### Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

10/100

Volunteer-to-staff ratio8 volunteers / 75 staff · 1/10 pts

## How much does Inner City Music Limited raise and spend?

Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Total income | £3.1m | — |
| Total expenditure | £3.1m | — |
| Charitable activities | £1.5m | 51% |
| Fundraising | £1.5m | 49% |

51%On charitable activities

## Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2025) · £3.1m spent

- Charitable activities51% · £1.5m
- Fundraising49% · £1.5m

## What trust indicators does Inner City Music Limited have?

Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.

- ✓ Accounts filed on time

up to date · last filing 24 June 2026

- ✓ Trustee board size (3–12)

7 trustees on the Charity Commission register

- ✓ Workforce on register

75 employees · 8 volunteers (0:1 volunteer-to-staff)

Fundraising Regulator

Status not yet checked

Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.

[Check Fundraising Regulator →](https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/members/)

Official register

Reg 516351

Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.

[View on Charity Commission →](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/516351)

### Trustees & officers

- GAVIN SHARP since 2011
- LISA ASHURST since 2015
- Julian Curnuck since 2016
- STEPHEN SORRELL Chair · since 2017
- KAREN GABAY since 2016
- Kate Campbell-Green since 2024
- Stephen Morgan since 2025

100
How we score charities
+The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.

[Full methodology →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology)

Accountability & Transparency

Scored from filings

40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).

Financial Health

Scored from filings

30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).

Financial Efficiency

Scored from filings

20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).

Community Support

Scored from filings

10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.

Overall score

Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.

## How have Inner City Music Limited's finances changed over five years?

- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend

Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts

## What are the key facts about Inner City Music Limited?

Overall score

52/100 (2★)

Income

£3.1m

Cause spend

54% of expenditure

Reg number

516351

Scope

UK-wide

Reserves

0 months

Trustees

7

Accounts year

2025

Filing

up to date

## How does INNER CITY MUSIC LIMITED compare, and where else can you look?

[Compare INNER CITY MUSIC LIMITED with others](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities?ids=inner-city-music-limited) [More arts & culture charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/arts) [How we score charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology)

### Where INNER CITY MUSIC LIMITED sits

The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.

- [arts charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/arts)
- [education charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/education)
- [community charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/community)
- [children charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/children)
- [Charities in Manchester](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/cities/manchester)
- [arts charities in Manchester](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/arts/manchester)

### Similar arts & culture charities

Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score

- [HACKNEY QUEST](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/hackney-quest) 100/100 · £827k
- [COMMON WEALTH THEATRE LIMITED](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/common-wealth-theatre-limited) 100/100 · £760k
- [PALLANT HOUSE GALLERY](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/pallant-house-gallery) 99/100 · £3.0m
- [CREATE (ARTS) LIMITED](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/create-arts-limited) 99/100 · £1.6m

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## What red flags does Inner City Music Limited have?

## Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Inner City Music Limited's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is Inner City Music Limited a good charity? + Inner City Music Limited scores 52 out of 100 (2 stars — Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 54% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.

Is Inner City Music Limited a legitimate charity? + Yes — Inner City Music Limited is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 516351). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/516351. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.

What is Inner City Music Limited's charity number? + Inner City Music Limited's charity number is 516351. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.

What is Inner City Music Limited's charity rating? + Inner City Music Limited scores 52 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars — Poor). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.

Does Inner City Music Limited have reviews and complaints? + CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Inner City Music Limited. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.

How much of my donation reaches Inner City Music Limited? + According to its 2025 regulator filing, 54% of Inner City Music Limited's total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.

What are Inner City Music Limited's overheads? + According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 46% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 46% of total expenditure at Inner City Music Limited. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Inner City Music Limited's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register.

How much income does Inner City Music Limited receive? + Inner City Music Limited reported £3.1m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.

Are Inner City Music Limited's accounts up to date? + Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is Inner City Music Limited based? + Inner City Music Limited is listed at Manchester · UK-wide · M4 5JZ and operates UK-wide, focused on arts & culture.

How does CharityCompare score Inner City Music Limited? + We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Inner City Music Limited's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.

How often is this page updated? + This profile was last updated on 17 July 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Inner City Music Limited's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.