Self-Assessment Report 2022-23 - page 4
Benchmarking
We actively engage in several benchmarking activities, working groups and best practice activities to enhance our performance every year.
Benchmarking supports the development of a culture of continuous improvement. It is an effective tool for the observation, analysis and reporting of performance over time. It allows us to make comparisons with other councils in Northern Ireland and throughout the United Kingdom. By comparing our performance, we can gain insight into our strengths and identify areas that require a focus for improvement.
This section summarises our comparative observations on absenteeism and prompt payment performance.
It also gives an overview on the Association for Public Service Excellence, internal benchmarking, and best practice activities.
Absenteeism
- In 2022/23, 17.94 days were lost per full-time equivalent employee, the highest level recorded since 2016/17. 14.85 days were lost to long-term absence, and 3.09 days to short-term absence.
- COVID-19 was prevalent during the year, with the highest number of absences attributed to the chest and respiratory category. Other contributing factors include delays in accessing medical consultations and treatments, and ongoing employee-relations associated absences.
- Looking back, the average number of days lost across the 11 Northern Ireland councils in 2021/22 was 16.59 days, a 6-day increase on the previous year. Comparative data is not yet available for the 2022/23 year.
- We launched our Listening to Staff survey in November 2022 to give our employees the opportunity to have their voices heard. The survey was endorsed by Trade Union colleagues, and the Senior Management Team is committed to implementing the resulting actions and recommendations.
Table 1: Absenteeism across Northern Ireland councils (annual results).
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council |
2015/16 12.12 days |
2016/17 14.36 days |
2017/18 11.88 days |
2018/19 13.73 days |
2019/20 12.41 days |
2020/21 7.87 days |
2021/22 14.7 days |
Ards and North Down Borough Council |
2015/16 16.37 days |
2016/17 14.62 days |
2017/18 16.16 days |
2018/19 14.23 days |
2019/20 14.19 days |
2020/21 10.59 days |
2021/22 22.4 days |
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council |
2015/16 14.16 days |
2016/17 13.07 days |
2017/18 16.06 days |
2018/9 16.73 days |
2019/20 18.28 days |
2020/21 15.67 days |
2021/22 20.51 days |
Belfast City Council |
2015/16 10.3 days |
2016/17 12.44 days |
2017/18 13.72 days |
2018/19 13.71 days |
2019/20 13.58 days |
2020/21 10.86 days |
2021/22 16.33 days |
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council |
2015/16 14.56 days |
2016/17 15.87 days |
2017/18 15.79 days |
2018/19 17.13 days |
2019/20 17.82 days |
2020/21 11.34 days |
2021/22 17.03 days |
Derry City and Strabane District Council |
2015/16 17 days |
2016/17 14.89 days |
2017/18 14 days |
2018/19 12.3 days |
2019/20 14.5 days |
2020/21 10.37 days |
2021/22 16.8 days |
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council |
2015/16 11.37 days
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2016/17 12.8 days |
2017/18 12.87 days |
2018/19 10.44 days |
2019/20 13.77 days |
2020/21 9.69 days |
2021/22 13.15 days |
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council |
2015/16 13.6 days |
2016/17 15 days |
2017/18 16.7 days |
2018/19 13.3 days |
2019/20 13.8 days |
2020/21 11.5 days |
2021/22 13.6 days |
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council |
2015/16 15.22 days |
2016/17 18.32 days |
2017/18 17.08 days |
2018/19 14.05 days |
2019/20 10.64 days |
2020/21 4.68 days |
2021/22 15.21 days |
Mid Ulster District Council |
2015/16 12.6 days |
2016/17 15.7 days |
2017/18 12.37 days |
2018/19 12.9 days |
2019/20 11.7 days |
2020/21 9.72 days |
2021/22 12.11 days |
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council |
2015/16 15.94 days |
2016/17 17.33 days |
2017/18 17.16 days |
2018/19 14.7 days |
2019/20 15.8 days |
2020/21 13.6 days |
2021/22 20.66 days |
Prompt payment performance
We implemented an Electronic Purchase Ordering System in late 2017 to enable the efficient processing of payments. This was replaced by a new financial system in November 2021.
Our annual and comparative performance is summarised below.
- In 2022/23, at 74% the percentage of payments made within 10 working days improved for the sixth consecutive year. This is our highest recorded figure and is above the Northern Ireland council average of 70%.
- In the same year, the average percentage of payments made within 30 working days was 87%, an 8% reduction on the previous year. This was a result of staff being unfamiliar with the new finance system.
- The percentage of invoices paid within 30 days significantly increased in the last quarter of the year following additional staff training, from 79% in quarter three to 92%.
Table 1: Prompt payment results – Mid and East Antrim Borough Council (annual results)
Invoices paid within 10 days. |
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2015/16 59% |
2016/17 48% |
2017/18 34% |
2018/19 45% |
2019/20 50% |
2020/21 57% |
2021/22 68% |
2022/23 74% |
Invoices paid within 30 days (more than 10 days). |
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2015/16 25% |
2016/17 40% |
2017/18 50% |
2018/19 38% |
2019/20 36% |
2020/21 26% |
2021/22 27% |
2022/23 13% |
Invoices paid outside 30 days. |
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2015/16 13% |
2016/17 12% |
2017/18 16% |
2018/19 17% |
2019/20 14% |
2020/21 16% |
2021/22 5% |
2022/23 13% |
(Source: Unaudited data from the Department for Communities quarterly publications).
Table 2: The percentage of payments within 30 days by Northern Ireland council (annual results)
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council |
2019/20 86% |
2020/21 89% |
2021/22 80% |
2022/23 80% |
Ards and North Down Borough Council |
2019/20 93% |
2020/21 96% |
2021/22 98% |
2022/23 97% |
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council |
2019/20 67% |
2020/21 91% |
2021/22 95% |
2022/23 95% |
Belfast City Council |
2019/20 93% |
2020/21 93% |
2021/22 94% |
2022/23 92% |
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council |
2019/20 79% |
2020/21 87% |
2021/22 92% |
2022/23 91% |
Derry City and Strabane District Council |
2019/20 81% |
2020/21 79% |
2021/22 65% |
2022/23 74% |
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council |
2019/20 94% |
2020/21 94% |
2021/22 94% |
2022/23 96% |
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council |
2019/20 91% |
2020/21 87% |
2021/22 91% |
2022/23 87% |
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council |
2019/20 86% |
2020/21 84% |
2021/22 95% |
2022/23 87% |
Mid Ulster District Council |
2019/20 94% |
2020/21 95% |
2021/22 99% |
2022/23 99% |
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council |
2019/20 90% |
2020/21 86% |
2021/22 89% |
2022/23 86% |
The Association for Public Service Excellence
We participate in the Association for Public Service Excellence Northern Ireland Benchmarking Project which commenced in 2015/16, with several other regional councils.
With various changes made to the agreed performance indicators over the last eight years, and as the project develops and stabilises, the data becomes more useful for annual trend analysis and cross-council benchmarking.
Data is currently collected for 12 service areas:
- Arts and Heritage
- Building Control
- Cemetery and Crematorium Services
- Community Development
- Corporate Services (which includes Organisational Design and Human Resources, ICT, Registration Services, Training and Learning, Finance and Financial Services, Legal Services, Democratic Services, Complaints, and Cost of Services)
- Economic Development
- Environmental Health
- Parks, Open Spaces and Horticultural Services
- Planning
- Refuse Collection
- Street Cleansing
- Sports and Leisure
The latest data available is for the 2021 to 2022 year:
- Of the 202 performance indicators in the benchmarking framework, we submitted data for 144.
- We carried out a detailed analysis, which included comparisons with the Northern Ireland average and the identification of any improvement or deterioration from the previous year, where possible.
- There were 116 indicators where our performance could be compared to that of the other participating councils, and the results are as follows:
- We were the top performing council in 9% (13 indicators).
- We ranked lowest in 16% (23 indicators).
- We were better than the regional average in 31% (44 indicators).
- We were below the regional average in 24% (35 indicators).
Internal benchmarking
We also carry out benchmarking within our own organisation.
Annual comparisons are made within our Corporate Plan indicators, and each individual department conducts comparative assessments to drive improvement within their own service areas.
An example of this is provided in the table below.
Table 1: The number of health and safety accidents recorded (annual results)
2016/17 |
57 |
2017/18 |
56 |
2018/19 |
36 |
2019/20 |
49 |
2020/21 |
14 |
2021/22 |
19 |
2022/23 |
11 |
Best practice
Our Elected Members and Council Officers participate in best practice visits with other councils and external organisations.
Examples of activities undertaken during 2022/23, include:
- A visit to Queen's University Belfast’s Director of Estates to capture lessons learnt on City Deal, and to understand the university’s structure and governance for the delivery of capital projects.
- Our Climate and Sustainability team attended the All-Ireland Sustainability Summit in Belfast to learn about best practice across energy, waste, and biodiversity.
- The Corporate Performance and Improvement team continue to represent the Council at regular meetings of the Northern Ireland Local Government Performance Improvement Working Group.
- Our Waste Management team visited several regional councils to review household recycling centre policies and route optimisation practices.
A comprehensive list of best practice visits and events is provided in appendix 3.
Looking forward
We are working hard to ensure we continue to provide quality services for our citizens.
We commissioned a Citizens Survey in 2022 to gain an understanding of the views and needs of our local communities, and to support the development of our plans and strategies. We received 810 responses from a wide range of people across our borough.
The top five priorities identified through the survey for making the area a better place to live were:
- Supporting and developing activities for children and young people.
- Support to reduce poverty.
- Developing skills and job prospects.
- Delivering clean and attractive streets and towns.
- Supporting our parks, green spaces and the natural and built environment.
A few key statistics are summarised below:
- 71% of citizens were satisfied with Mid and East Antrim as a place to live.
- 88% of citizens reported feeling very or fairly safe when outside in their local area during the day.
- 53% felt the borough is a good area for attractions and tourism.
- 55% felt that the borough is a good area for supporting physical activity.
- 48% felt that the borough has a skilled and adaptable workforce.
- 57% of citizens felt they had a sense of belonging to their area.
- 65% felt the borough is one where people have easy access to the natural environment and built assets.
- 51% of citizens would like to see more local services to improve mental health and wellbeing.
- 45% of citizens would like to see more support services for children, families, and those with disabilities.
- 89% of citizens stated that they felt recycling was either very or quite important.
Performance Improvement Plan for 2023 to 2024
Our Performance Improvement Plan for 2023 to 2024 demonstrates our ongoing commitment to supporting our local communities and businesses.
The plan was developed with stakeholder engagement, and outlines some of the areas we hope to improve, how we plan to do it and how our citizens will be better off as a result.
Our Improvement Objectives for the upcoming year are:
- Objective 1: Growing the economy and creating jobs.
To identify ways to increase local jobs and employment opportunities within Mid and East Antrim.
- Objective 2: Revitalising our towns.
Through a variety of regeneration activities, support our businesses, welcome inward investment, and attract visitors to our towns.
- Objective 3: Supporting our citizens' health and wellbeing.
Encourage and promote regular, safe, and responsible use of our parks and open spaces by providing quality, sustainable and inclusive opportunities.
- Objective 4: Working in partnership to support our citizens, particularly those who are vulnerable.
Work in partnership to support our citizens.
- Objective 5: Improving infrastructure to support the transition to low-carbon transport systems.
To reduce emissions and protect the environment for future generations.
- Objective 6: Enhancing customer engagement and service delivery.
Develop the Council’s use of information technology to improve customer engagement and service delivery.
You can read our current and previous improvement plans on our Performance Improvement Plan section.
Closing remarks
As a Council, we have worked vigorously to embed a culture of continuous improvement.
We know that listening to our citizens, businesses, and service users is integral to this goal.
We have identified areas for improvement through this performance assessment and will prioritise their progression in the year ahead.
We will continue to seek opportunities to learn and adapt to our environment to ensure we can meet the needs of our local communities.
We will keep looking within our organisation, to see what we can do better, and more efficiently.
I want to thank our communities, Elected Members, partners, and indeed our staff for their hard work and support throughout the year, and I look forward to the year ahead.
Valerie Watts
Interim Chief Executive
Appendices
Appendix 1: Audit Findings - Northern Ireland Audit Office
The Northern Ireland Audit Office may put forward a ‘Proposal for Improvement’ within their audit assessment each year.
Proposals for improvement represent good practice and should assist us in meeting our performance improvement responsibilities. The Audit and Scrutiny Committee track their progress.
An update on previous proposals for improvement is provided below.
Proposal 1 |
Received: November 2022 |
The Council should consider extending the current request for feedback made on all publications, to make stakeholders aware that they can identify areas for improvement that can then be explored by Senior Management and Elected Representatives in the creation of the Performance Improvement Plan. |
Action taken: |
We accepted and actioned this proposal. A feedback request is included on all publications so stakeholders are aware they can identify areas for improvement at any time, which can then be explored further. |
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Status: |
Complete. |
Proposal 2 |
Received: 2021/22 |
When an objective is not carried through into the next Performance Improvement Plan and has not been fully marked as ‘complete’ the Council should clearly state within the Self-Assessment Report the reasons for not carrying forward, if it will continue to be measured and reported and the effect this will have, if any, on target setting process going forward. |
Action taken: |
The Council accepted and actioned this proposal. We clearly indicate the future reporting process of any incomplete objectives that have not been carried forward into the next year’s Performance Improvement Plan. |
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Status: |
Complete |
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Proposal 3 |
Received: 2019/20 |
The Council should consider in detail all relevant issues that could impact on the achievement of the revised target of restoring up to 10 properties (down from 18) within the Carrickfergus Townscape Heritage Initiative objective, given the continued economic problems and town centre vacancy with little or no return on investment, which could impinge heavily on the third-party investors needed for this scheme to proceed. |
Action taken: |
This objective continues within the Performance Improvement Plan for 2023/24, with a revised target of 10 properties by September 2023, following an approved extension to the project’s lifetime by the principal funder. Given current economic conditions, the performance indicator to reduce town centre vacancy rates is now deemed unrealistic and has been removed. 8 properties are complete. |
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Complete. |
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Proposal 4 |
Received: 2019/20 |
The Council should prioritise prior year Proposals for Improvement and take steps to address them. |
Action taken: |
One prior year proposal remains in progress. See Proposal 6 below. |
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Status: |
In progress. |
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Proposal 5 |
Received: 2018 |
The Council should ensure that each Improvement Objective and its underlying projects are focused on outcomes for citizens in relation to improved functions and/or services. The outcome(s) should always be clearly stated so that citizens can understand how they will benefit. |
Action taken: |
All objectives have clearly defined outcomes for citizens, are based on research, and align with both the Community Plan and Corporate Plan. |
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Status: |
Complete. |
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Proposal 6 |
Received: 2018 |
The Council should continue working with other councils and the Department to agree a suite of self-imposed indicators and standards. This will enable meaningful comparisons to be made and published in line with its statutory responsibility. |
Action taken: |
We are a member of the Performance Improvement Working Group, which includes Performance Officers, the Department for Communities, and the Northern Ireland Audit Office. We are working to ensure consistency and have identified a need to clarify benchmarking requirements. The delivery of some actions is delayed due to the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. The longer-term approach to benchmarking will remain a focus and will continue to be developed. The Department communicated that there will be a wider review of the Local Government (NI) Act 2014, likely to include Performance, and have committed to work with local councils as part of this process. |
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Status: |
In progress. |
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Proposal 7 |
Received: 2016/17 |
General Duty to Improve - Cascade the framework (or policy) and performance improvement responsibilities directly to all employees. |
Action taken |
Our Performance Management Framework has been implemented and cascaded to all employees. The Personal Development Plan process for all employees is a central element of the framework, with mandatory completion targets contained within annual business plans. We keep the framework under review to ensure it remains fit for purpose, and to reflect any improvements or changes to our arrangements. |
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Status: |
Complete. |
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Proposal 8 |
Received: 2016/17 |
Governance arrangements - Using the internal audit function to provide assurance on the integrity and operation of the Council’s performance improvement processes. |
Action taken: |
Two internal audits were completed, one in 2017, the other in 2019/20. As of 2022/23, all recommendations are considered complete. |
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Status: |
Complete. |
Appendix 2: Benchmarking
Internal Benchmarking
A list of our internal benchmarking activities is provided below:
- Annual business plan
- Annual Carbon Footprint Report and Environmental Performance
- Annual Climate Report
- Annual Personal Development Plan
- Citizen Survey, 2022
- Climate and Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan
- Continual monitoring of engagement figures using various Council Customer Relationship Management systems
- Continual review and monitoring of external communications and public image
- Continual review of internal procurement guidelines
- Council Health and Safety Committee
- Customer satisfaction surveys
- Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities DELTA online system quarterly return
- Engagement and registration figures from online webinars
- General Data Protection Regulation compliance tracking
- Facebook visitor attraction reviews
- Household Recycling Centre performance monitoring
- In-house performance monitoring system
- Internal Audit Practitioner Group
- Internal budget monitoring
- Internal monitoring of employability skills participation and qualifications achieved
- Internal review of Strategic Communications Plan
- ISO14001:2015 International Environment Management System
- Monitoring and reporting against i4C Innovation Centre proposals
- Monitoring and tracking of BuySupplyNI subscribers
- Monitoring of performance during staff meetings
- Monthly absence reports
- Monthly Capital Plan reporting
- Northern Ireland Climate Change Adaption Programme
- Performance Self-Assessment Report
- Post event and campaign analysis
- Regular monitoring and reviewing of stakeholder engagement
- Prompt payment performance monitoring
- Statutory performance indicator tracking
- Service Reviews and Transformation
- Social media analytics
- Tascomi software system
- Town centre footfall tracking
- Tracking of our energy consumption
- TripAdvisor reviews
- UN Sustainable Development Goals Report
- Visitor numbers
External Benchmarking
A list of our external benchmarking activities is provided below:
- The Association for Public Service Excellence Annual Benchmarking Survey, Annual Service Awards, Network Query participation, APSE Energy and APSE Awards submissions
- Arc21 Waste Management Group Northern Ireland Joint Committee
- Arc21 Waste Management Group Northern Ireland Steering Group
- Belfast Region City Deal Communications Forum
- Business in the Community NI, Environmental Benchmarking Survey
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs annual comparisons of dog foul complaints across councils
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Audit Policy and Procedures (Rural Development and TRPSI)
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland Landfill Allowance Scheme
- Local Government Staff Commission Regional Talent Management Group engagement
- Local Government Training Group engagement
- Stormont and UK Government campaigns teams for effective activation of key national messages engagement
- Consumer Council NI engagement
- Heads of Procurement Working Group
- ISO14001 International Environment Standard accreditation
- The Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful Cleanliness Index, BIG Spring Clean, Live Here Love Here Small Grants Scheme, Eco Schools (which includes the Green Flag assessment)
- LASAN (Accidents) Group Membership
- The Local Government Staff Commission for Northern Ireland Health and Wellbeing Group
- Local Government Apprenticeship Network Group
- Local Government Information Practitioners Network
- Local Government Operational Network
- Local Government Performance Improvement Working Group
- Local Government Procurement Officers Group
- Member of Climate NI
- Member of National Communications Advisory Panel (NCAP)
- Member of Northern Ireland Council’s Electric Vehicle consortium group
- Member of Northern Ireland Council’s Recycling Officers Forum
- Member of Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) Forum Group
- Member of Building Control Northern Ireland Committee
- Member of Building Control Northern Ireland Fire Safety Panel
- Member of Building Control Northern Ireland Standards Panel
- Member of Building Control Northern Ireland Training and Communications Panel
- Member of Information Governance Network
- Member of key communications bodies in Northern Ireland, including the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
- Member of Labour Market Partnership
- Member of LARAC (Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee)
- Member of Local Authority Building Control (UK mainland based)
- Member of Sustainable NI
- Member of the Information Governance Network
- Member of the regional Environmental Health Northern Ireland, including subgroups
- Mid and East Antrim Innovation Partnership
- Monitoring as part of the Digital Surge Programme
- Monitoring as part of the Invest NI Referral Process
- Monitoring of awards won (Green Flag, Britain in Bloom, Ulster in Bloom, Seaside Award, Blue Flag, and Gold Anchor)
- Northern Ireland All-Party Working Group on Climate Change (Northern Ireland Executive Level)
- Northern Ireland Councils, Land and Property Services and IDOX IT Solutions
- Northern Ireland Museums Council Museum Accreditation Scheme
- Northern Ireland Audit Office Annual Reports including financial indicators, absenteeism, and prompt payments
- Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency visitor attractions statistics
- North Channel Partnership
- Northern Ireland Leisure Managers Forum
- Participation in the Bid to Win Programme
- Participation in the Digital Surge Programme
- Participation in the Mid and East Antrim Innovation Partnership
- Quarterly liaison meetings with the Department of Finance
- Regional ICT Managers Group
- Statutory key performance indicators
- Tackling Plastic NI Zero Waste Award
- Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Group
- Tourism NI Visitor Attractions Group
- Tourism NI Visitor Information Centre Statistics
- Town Centre Repurposing Pilot Grant Scheme
- UK Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management.
- UK iESE (Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise) Awards for innovation in transforming local public services
Appendix 3: Benchmarking and Best Practice 2022 to 2023
We have summarised various benchmarking activities undertaken throughout 2022/23 below.
‘Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’ is referred to as ‘MEABC’ throughout.
Example 1: November 2022 |
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Example 13: April and September 2023 |
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The consortium shares best practice and ideas around key areas, including:
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Example 15: March 2023 |
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