What is Performance Improvement

Part 12 of The Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014  sets out a general Duty of Improvement for Councils “in that” a local Council must plan to secure continuous improvement in the exercise of its functions. We are required to have regard to improvement in the exercise of our functions in terms of at least one or more of the following aspects:

(a)  Strategic effectiveness; (b) Service quality; (c) Service availability; (d) Fairness; (e) Sustainability; (f) Efficiency; and (g) Innovation.

Improvement is defined in statutory guidance as more than just quantifiable gains in service output or efficiency, or the internal effectiveness of an organisation. Improvement for councils should mean activity that enhances the sustainable quality of life and environment for ratepayers and communities. Essentially, improvement is about making things better and our focus is on how we can deliver better services for the benefit of our residents and service users.

Performance management refers to the processes and behaviours which apply to everyone within the Council to maintain high standards to enable local people to access high-quality, cost-effective services and to ensure that we deliver on our strategic vision. The diagram below illustrates that Fermanagh and Omagh are committed to establishing processes to ensure that it effectively manages performance and is focused on delivering continuous improvement.

Annual Performance Improvement Plan

Performance Improvement Planning is an annual process undertaken by Council and is directly linked to our overarching corporate planning framework.

The Council has developed a new Corporate Plan ‘Our Council, Our Plan 2024-2028’. The Corporate Plan identifies four Corporate Priorities which will be the focus of the Council’s improvement activity over the 2024-2028 term. These Priorities were established in consultation with our local community and continue to inform the Improvement Objectives for 2025-2026. You can read the Consultation Report that supported the codesign of the Corporate Plan 2024-2028 ‘Putting our Residents at the Heart of Everything we do’ here. 

The Council launched its annual Performance Improvement Plan 2025-2026 on the 27 June 2025. The Plan sets out clear priorities that will guide the Council’s work over the next 12 months, focusing on economic growth, community wellbeing, environmental responsibility, and enhanced access to public services. Developed in consultation with residents, community partners, and stakeholders, the plan reflects the Council’s ambition to be responsive, transparent, and people centred.

We also assessed our progress against our Performance Improvement Plan 2024-2025, click on the link to view the Taking Stock Impact Report 2025.

The 2025-2026 Performance Improvement Plan was approved by Council in May 2025 at the Regeneration and Community  Committee here.  Click to view the Equality Screening and Rural Needs Assessments of the improvement plan.

We will monitor our progress and publish information on our performance against objectives before the end of September 2024 in our Annual Performance Report.

If you require any further information, require a hard copy of the Performance Improvement Plan or wish to request it in an alternative format or have any ideas for future improvement objectives, please contact:

Annual Performance Report

By 30 September each year we will publish an Annual Performance Report setting out our self-assessment of how we have performed against our Corporate Plan commitments and our Improvement Objectives in the previous financial year.

To view the 2024-2025 Annual Report ‘A Year of Action, A Vision for the Future’, please click here. The most recent Impact Reports and an analysis of the 40 Corporate Plan measures is available here. 

Our work on Performance Improvement is subject to audit by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) in line with the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014. See attached downloadable Audit and Assessment Report 2024-25  from NIAO on the outcome of our improvement audit and assessment, in which the Council was deemed to have satisfactorily discharged its duties in relation to statutory performance improvement and reporting.

If you wish to discuss the content of these documents with a Council Official please contact

How to Propose New Improvement Objectives

We welcome your on-going feedback and comments or suggestions on how we might improve our services and if you would like to propose any new improvement objectives. Please use one of the following ways to contact us:

Email: strategicplanning@fermanaghomagh.com

Telephone: 0300 303 1777

Text Phone: 028 8225 6216

In writing:

Strategic Planning and Performance,
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council,
The Grange, Mountjoy Road,
Lisnamallard, Omagh
BT79 7BL

Click here  to fill in our Online Form