Performance Improvement Plan self-assessment report 2025-2026

For each of our six 2025-2026  improvement objectives, we identified improvement actions which set out what we wanted to deliver, as well as key performance indicators and targets, which would enable us to measure our success. This section provides an overall performance assessment and a summary of key achievements from our Performance Improvement Plan 2025-2026.  

Performance Improvement Plan 2025-2026 self-assessment

Our overall annual performance against achieving our improvement objectives 2025-2026 is summarised in the lists. We have outlined our progress against our 33 actions and 57 performance indicators (seven statutory and 50 self-imposed). 

Thirty three actions

• 100 per cent of actions were either achieved or partially achieved
• 32 (97 per cent) were achieved
• 1 (3 per cent) were partially achieved

Fifty seven performance indicators (target)

• 48 (84.2 per cent) were on target or exceeded target (within 1 per cent or better) – four statutory, 36 self-imposed
• 2 (3.5 per cent) were slightly adrift of target (between 1 per cent and 5 per cent) - one statutory, one self-imposed
• 6 (10.5 per cent) were adrift of target (more than 5 per cent) – two statutory, four self-imposed
• 1 (1.8 per cent) had no data available

Fifty seven performance indicators (trend)

• 52 (91 per cent) showed positive change (five statutory, 47 self-imposed)
• 1 (2 per cent) showed no significant change (one self-imposed) 
• 4 (7 per cent) showed negative change (two statutory, two self-imposed) 

Actions were partially achieved when work started or was progressed during 2025-2026 but the project or activity spans more than one financial year. A rationale and detailed analysis have been provided in section 5, Self-assessment of improvement objectives, where targets (both actions and KPIs) have not been achieved and this broadly includes regional issues and delays, council resource constraints as well as dependency on external factors including market forces and regulatory changes.

Diagram of overall actions, targets and trends across six improvement objectives in 2025-2026

Summary of key achievements from our Performance Improvement Plan 2025-2026

A snapshot of some of the key achievements and performance improvement across all six improvement objectives, is illustrated.

• 76 per cent of corporate complaints resolved within timeframe (target 65 per cent) 
• 97 per cent of closed missed bin service completed within five working days (target 92 per cent)
• 96 per cent of invoices paid within 30 calendar days (target 90 per cent)
• 23,000 additional households supported through kerbside glass collection
• 39 physical programme projects completed (target 10)
• 87 per cent of planning enforcement cases processed within 39 weeks (target 70 per cent)
• 18 short-term council Corporate Climate Action Plan priorities progressed (target 19)
• 7,297 people engaged on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) programmes (target 2,000)
• 3,620,303 visits to our leisure centres (target 3,350,000)
• £1.1million of Hardship Programme funding distributed (target £1.1 million)
• 430 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supported to engage in digital innovation (target 425)
• 42 Belfast Business Promise businesses supported to improve their recognition level (reaching Member or Ambassador status) (target 10)