Our Finance team has made strong progress in harnessing digital tools to drive efficiency, accuracy, and compliance.

Automation of key processes such as prepayments and recurring journals has reduced manual effort and improved consistency, while enhanced journal approval controls have strengthened segregation of duties.

The automation of invoice processing is well underway, with user testing and full rollout planned in the coming months.

Staff training has supported in-house development of system-based reports, including an automated balance sheet and improved income and expenditure reporting.

Self-service reporting for managers is also in progress, with tailored training materials being developed.

Financial management has been strengthened through a new month-end checklist, Finance workday calendar, and enhanced reforecasting, improving visibility of actuals vs budget and supporting more accurate year-end projections.

Control accounts and workflows have also been refined to improve recurring journals and balance sheet reconciliations.

A successful system upgrade in March laid the foundation for further enhancements.

Work is now advancing on new sourcing and inventory modules, with project teams and testing environments in place.

The majority of the actions from the Good Governance Review have been completed.

The remaining actions are underway, with relevant updates being brought to Elected Members on the specific areas.

We have continued to strengthen our financial management and budgeting processes.

Based on current projections, efforts are underway to increase the General Fund, bringing it closer to the mid-range of the approved target.

In light of the current economic climate and rising unexpected costs, this increase is necessary to ensure greater financial stability and give us the ability to mitigate unforeseen expenses and financial risks.

External borrowing remains well within policy limits, and we have made strong progress in delivering timely and accurate monthly management accounts.

This has improved financial oversight and informed decision-making across the organisation.

Additionally, we have introduced a forecasting process to provide a more accurate and timelier picture of our financial position, supporting better planning and decision-making moving forward.

Debt management processes have been significantly improved, with the proportion of outstanding debt over 90 days reduced steadily over the course of the year.

This reflects the implementation of a revised Debt Management Policy and ongoing collaboration across service areas.

Investment activities have been managed in line with Treasury Management parameters.

Policy updates were introduced during the year to ensure continued compliance, while also supporting effective cashflow and risk management.

Work to review and update the Asset Management Strategy is underway, however progress has been slower than expected due to the need for the team to respond to emerging organisational priorities.

Engagement with key stakeholders has taken place to ensure alignment and inform the development of the strategy.

It has been agreed that the review will continue into 2025/26 to allow for a more comprehensive and informed update.

Across the year, 92% of requests for information under FOI and/or EIR were processed within the statutory timeframe.

Delays were mainly due to the time required to gather comprehensive information, which often involved coordination across multiple service areas.

In some instances, additional time was also needed to obtain legal advice, secure appropriate approvals, and ensure careful consideration of exemptions in relation to more complex requests.

Across the year, 81% of subject access requests were processed within the statutory timeframe.

While the target of full compliance was not met, all requests were carefully managed to ensure lawful and accurate disclosure.

Where delays occurred, these were primarily due to the need for thorough review and appropriate approvals to safeguard the rights of individuals and uphold data protection standards.

The ICO did not overturn any of our decisions this year.

A restructuring of the Corporate and Support Services Directorate is underway, with significant progress made to date.

Many staff have transitioned into new roles, and a number of vacancies have been publicly advertised.

The restructuring will continue into 2025/26.

The primary objective of the restructure is to ensure that the Corporate and Support Services Directorate is appropriately resourced to deliver high quality services in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

By realigning functions and roles, the restructure will enhance the capacity of the directorate to support other service areas, drive greater value for money, and deliver improved outcomes for our citizens.

We continue to make significant progress in delivering actions aligned with all 17 Goals UNSDGs, and the target of 10 programmes has been exceeded.

A placement student from Queen’s University Belfast is currently compiling a comprehensive progress report on our achievements to date.

This year, we have continued to collaborate with a wide range of community, business, and tourism stakeholders, including Government departments, the Public Health Agency, the PSNI, the Northern Health & Social Care Trust, and local groups.

Whilst it is impossible to list all partners, these collaborations have been essential in progressing initiatives that support public health, community cohesion and local business development.

Across the year, 1.5 days were spent, per FTE, on employee learning and development.

Almost 260 individual courses were completed and recorded, surpassing our target for the year.

A comprehensive strategy will be developed following the completion of the restructure of the Corporate and Support Services Directorate.

These action plans will outline the necessary steps to effectively respond to the survey results.

The development of a Learning & Development Strategy for staff will progress following the completion of the restructure of the Corporate and Support Services Directorate.

A key component of this new structure includes the creation of an Organisational Development & Talent Manager role.

This post will lead on the development and implementation of the strategy.

We launched several initiatives this year to support staff health and wellbeing, including World Mental Health Day, Shoctober Week, Hearing Aid Support Services and StayWell focus on Financial Health.

The restructuring of the Corporate and Support Services Directorate includes the creation of an Employee Inclusion & Wellbeing Officer role.

This officer will be responsible for delivering actions to advance our health and wellbeing initiatives for staff.

Across the year, 17.18 days per FTE were recorded, exceeding the target of 15 days per FTE.

During the latter half of 2024, a scrutiny panel comprising of Elected Members was established to review sickness absence across the organisation.

The panel completed a review and identified several key issues contributing to the high levels of absenteeism.

We are now developing and implementing a series of targeted initiatives, informed by best practice and recommendations from the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO), that are aimed at improving attendance and supporting staff wellbeing.

Significant progress has been made in developing and implementing the Learning & Development programme for Elected Members.

Membership of the Councillor Development Charter Sub-Committee has been agreed and the committee held its inaugural meeting in September, with subsequent meetings held throughout the year.

A training needs assessment for Elected Members is currently underway, and officers are preparing a report for review.

The development of the programme will continue into 2025/26.

As part of the ongoing restructure of the Corporate and Support Services Directorate, a new Consultation & Engagement Officer role has been established.

This officer will lead on the development of a comprehensive strategy aimed at ensuring our consultation processes are inclusive, transparent, and effective, ultimately strengthening stakeholder involvement in decision-making.