Item 08 Appendix 2
West Dunbartonshire Council · 21 May 2025
Back to Corporate Services Committee — 21 May 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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DRAFT APPENDIX 2 2025-26 DELIVERY PLAN People and Technology
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2 Contents 1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................................2 2. Performance Review...............................................................................................................................................................2 3. Strategic Assessment..............................................................................................................................................................6 4. Resources.............................................................................................................................................................................14 Finance ...........................................................................................................14 Employees ......................................................................................................15 Appendix 1: Action Plan...................................................................................................................................................................17
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2 1. Introduction People and Technology comprise a wide range of services covering Strategic HR, Organisational Development, Change and Digital, ICT, Transactional Services (HR advice, pensions and pay), Health, Safety and Risk and Organisational Resilience. It is one of seven strategic areas responsible for delivering the Council’s Strategic Plan. Key actions to help achieve that are set out in this Delivery Plan, together with actions to address any performance issues and service priorities identified in the planning process. The progress of this Plan will be monitored and managed by the management team and reported to Corporate Services Committee bi-annually, at mid-year and year-end. 2. Performance Review The management team completed a detailed review of 2024/25 performance, focusing on the following: 2024/25 Delivery Plan year-end progress; Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) comparative data; National Digital Office programmes; Cabinet Office and Scottish Government Security compliance and guidance; and Continuous Improvement. This review highlighted our key achievements and challenges in 2024/25. These are summarised below. Key Achievements 2024/25 Transactional Support Furthered digital improvements in the Workforce Management System (WMS) specifically the implementation of Caseviewer which significantly improves the management of online form approval and visibility. Completed annual payroll audit and processed pay awards at short notice and with a significant and complex arrears element. Successfully developed automations within key process areas delivering crucial efficiencies.
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3 CAS Achieved near 100% automation in Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payment processing, driving significant improvements in team efficiency and capacity to support additional business areas. Launched online forms across multiple functions, enhancing data consistency and streamlining the data collection and processing workflows. Implemented new automations for building security certificates and commercial waste invoicing, boosting efficiency in critical operational processes. Cross-trained teams across multiple functions, enhancing team resilience against a backdrop of reduced resources and increased workload. Developed and rolled out a financial dashboard, enabling proactive management of revenue balances and providing vital support for service teams. ICT Achieved 87% ICT Customer Satisfaction level. Achieved 82% Employees stating their Cyber Awareness has increased due to ICT campaigns. Development of new Cyber Incident Response Plan, approved by Committee in February 2025. Delivered ICT Security training course materials and Cyber Security and Phishing awareness sessions for Elected members, Joint Consultative Forum and Council employees. Upskilled ICT employees with industry-standard training in infrastructure, 365, applications, device, and cyber security fields. Enabled cross organisation collaboration by implementing the capability for Council & NHS employees to access both networks in various joint locations. People and Change Strategic HR supported the council in achieving the Gold Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme for the 5th time, maintained Disability Confident status and committed to the Race @ Work Charter. Job evaluation has been strengthened with the embedding of the policy with a focus on training and more proactive work to support streamlining the council’s organisational structure with Strategic Operating Model (SOM) compliance and multiple restructures.
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4 Organisational Development delivered Modern Leaders programme with first cohorts completed, created a coaching & Mentoring Toolkit, and Continuous Personal Development (CPD) hub with a future leader’s toolkit and peer coaching circles launched. Designed, developed and published resources to help raise awareness of digital transformation. A review into onboarding was conducted and a central onboarding hub was created for managers and new employees. Fit for Future review with Risk & Health and Safety focussing on improvements to communications and processes. Health and Safety refined H&S committee reports to include data, table charts/graphs and additional relevant information requested by Trade Unions (TUs) and management. The team have delivered the full programme of occupational noise exposure monitoring (Noise Risk Assessments) service audits against WDC Safety Management Standards The team were the first pilot team to implementation M365 SharePoint and managed the successful transition of FIGTREE (Safety Management System) from WDC servers to FIGTREE remote servers Business Resilience Supported a range of minor events and major incidents across the local area, working in support of multi-agency partners. Made significant progress in power outage planning across both Council and HSCP services. Refreshed business continuity arrangements, working closely with services in focus group scenarios. Secured Raynet communications coverage, the first of its kind in Scotland, and providing resilience in the event of an emergency/incident resulting in power outage. Key Challenges in 24/25 Resilience/ Capacity Challenges Across People and Technology, there are a range of challenges linked to a continuing and increased demand for support, and a reliance on technology which is anticipated to be an ongoing pressure in future years. The workforce levels are now outstripped by service demands. Over the last few years, we have encouraged services to become more self-reliant by introducing self-serve and developing automation of key processes to promote efficiency in time-consuming tasks, however, buy-in from wider service areas has been slow. Similarly, the take up of service champions to assist with key priorities, such as digital transformation, has been a challenge with significant improvement required to support change. In 2025/26 we will continue to promote automation and self-reliance. Significant changes in proposed employment legislation impacting on policy, process, terms and conditions and working practices and challenging political landscape.
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5 Retention of talent continues to be a challenge. Corporate Administration Support (CAS) operates a flat and lean structure with limited opportunity for progression within the structure leading to CAS providing a high level of training resulting in highly skilled and capable employees ultimately benefitting other services due to opportunities at slightly higher grades. The Digital team is a small corporate resource, therefore more individual/team ownership around digital capability will be a key requirement. This will be supported by Digital Champions, but this role needs to be visible, valued, have the right people in it and be given the time needed to ensure a consistent cascade allowing tools and skills to be mainstreamed across services. The recent digital skills survey had a very low response rate, demonstrating a lack of engagement, a worrying lack of understanding in how important it is to ensuring skills gaps are closed and we can use technology to maximise capabilities and skills across teams especially given the speed of technology developments and that this is the route forward to improving efficiency. The ongoing rationalisation of resources and development of service efficiencies has resulted in many restructures, some becoming more complex and an increased reliance on SHR which has significantly impacted on the team and the ability to do the more proactive improvement activities. This has resulted in several initiatives taking much longer than anticipated such as the Stress Risk review and the People First employee cycle improvement plan. Focus and resources are often directed to more reactive activities such as Voluntary Severance (VS) / Voluntary Early Retirement (VER), legislative changes and the application and implementation of the HR people policies which results in resources being stretched. Workforce Planning requires to be further embedded to ensure knowledge across the organisation is enhanced. Continuing recruitment challenges in attracting and maintaining resource and skills due to uncertainty and budget implications. Increased demands include policy development and new employee initiatives that necessitates data from the Workforce Management System (WMS) and operational HR skillsets, both of which increase day to day workloads for Transactional teams. This will ultimately require the strict prioritisation of operational HR and Payroll tasks. Health & Safety will experience a loss of experience and roles from the team alongside supporting and mentoring the new Graduate. Maintaining visibility, support and commitment from senior management whilst looking to ensure compliance with statutory and legislative requirements The biggest challenge for the People and Change team was, and will continue to be, the exponential rate of change leading to increase demand for the service to support employees’ skills, wellbeing and engagement whilst supporting council-wide projects such as the roll-out of Microsoft 365, structure changes, changing roles and skillsets with limited resources and increasing workload. This is leading to a much more demanding role as competing priorities such as wellbeing, workforce capability building, maximising tools and project delivery are balanced with ensuring that ongoing financial savings and service delivery expectations are met. As a result, there is an impact on employee wellbeing due to on-going complex
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6 change and the requirement to provide support mechanisms delivering consistent support with insufficient and stretched resources Continued technical challenges with Frontier (Workforce Management System), particularly the speed issues for system users. Any issues continue to be managed through discussions with the supplier at national level. ICT Challenges Reduced ICT resources impacting service delivery and requiring use of fixed term and capital funded employees to deliver business as usual support, technology improvements and service area projects. Hybrid Working Challenges: o Managing and mitigating the increased risk of Cyber Security threats including phishing emails, ransomware attacks and updating and managing devices to ensure they are secure. Challenge to ensure laptop devices are regularly onsite in a Council location and connected internally to the network. o Increased data and bandwidth demand due to a surge in MS Teams video meetings and access to cloud services. i.e. reliance on streaming media to enhance teaching and learning. o Deploying new technologies and decommissioning/upgrading existing technologies when dependency is heightened e.g., replacement of remote access solution and migration to local desktop applications. o Continued increased demand and reliance on ICT support & technology - supporting hybrid working in addition to providing an appointment service and walk-up Tech Bar service to deliver support in corporate environments. Defining backup strategy, managing storage and data growth during a period of budget pressure and increased Cyber threat. Increased revenue costs as organisations/suppliers move from a capital-based license model to revenue funded. Ensuring appropriate training for employees as new technology is deployed. 3. Strategic Assessment The People and Technology management team completed a strategic assessment to determine the major influences on service delivery and priorities in 2025/26. These are summarised below. Key Factors Financial Challenges
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7 The entire public sector is continuing to face significant financial challenges due to a range of factors including inflationary cost increases, pay awards not being fully funded by the Scottish Government and insufficient overall funding to support the delivery of front line and back-office services. The Council are currently faced with an estimated cumulative funding gap in 2026/27 of £9.24m rising to £42.77m by 2029/30. We will continue to monitor the overall financial position of the Council and updates on estimated future budget gaps will be reported to Elected Members throughout 2025/26. These challenges require further action to balance our budget and protect services for residents. Within People & Technology, this means that available funding will be reduced over time, and we will need to reconfigure how we work, what we do, where we work, and potentially reduce the number of people employed. In this context, we will aim to continue to provide a sustainable, quality service to employees and our citizens. Budget Sensitivity Analysis Budget Sensitivity Analysis In reviewing the service budget projections, consideration has been given to sensitivity of these budgets, in particular for higher risk/ higher value budgets which may have a significant impact on budgetary control and future budget projections. The analysis has considered sensitivity around demand, costs and charges, and income levels. Within People and Technology budgets identified as being more susceptible to fluctuations include ICT Computer Software, due to technological updates, enhancements, security updates, integration, user base growth, regulatory compliance and inflation. Transactional Support Automation of Processes and Information Provision Many employees across the Council are employed in manual processes and information provision, such as processing invoices and updating transactional spreadsheets. Many such processes can be automated, providing benefits such as faster service delivery, improved quality and greater flexibility, as well as enabling employees to refocus on more complex and meaningful tasks rather than those that are repetitive and mundane. Progress will be reported within Resources Delivery plan. Payroll It is critical to ensure that employees are paid contractual and non-contractual payments accurately, in accordance with Terms and Conditions of service, and in a timely manner. In 2025/26 we will continue to ensure compliance with all statutory requirements and timelines. Annual actions include payroll audit and implementation of statutory payroll changes.
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8 CAS Team Reductions The savings options agreed to deliver the 2025/26 budget have resulted in a resource reduction in the Council’s Corporate Administration Support (CAS) team. The CAS team carries out a wide range of administrative functions across all Council services to ensure consistency. The reduction in resources will see cessation of payroll support tasks and Freedom of Information (FOI) support for all areas, except Education where FOIs will continue to be distributed to services to complete the processing and issue. Outsource Print Room The savings options agreed to deliver the 2025/26 budget require exploration of the outsourcing of all printing services. Currently the Council has an in-house printing service for essential, non-avoidable print jobs. Under this proposal printing would be outsourced which would deliver savings. Services requiring approved printing would send to the external printer via their devices to be actioned. External printing and enveloping are already in place for Council Tax notices and the model has operated successfully. This change will be effectively managed through careful planning, proactive measures, and the establishment of a service level agreement (SLA). A procurement exercise would be undertaken before any final decision is made to progress outsourcing of the Print Room. ICT Infrastructure and Technology There remains a high paced programme of technology change across the council against a background of reduced budgets and resources. A heightened threat of cyber-attacks is increasing pressure on local authorities and service delivery in a digital world which is more reliant on technology year after year. Therefore, it is critical to invest in modern, innovative and secure technology to ensure the council continues to focus on effective use of technology to enhance service delivery and ensure citizens have access to key council services. The council has invested heavily in Microsoft 365 cloud services and has made significant progress on associated projects throughout 2024/25. Pilot service areas have been migrated to SharePoint and One Drive and the main deliverable in 2025/26 is to implement the solutions for remaining council services. This technology replaces our long-standing use of on-premises storage for managing council files and folders and will integrate with existing 365 services and improve collaboration from anywhere and any device. In 2025/26 we will progress the next phase of Microsoft 365 implementation. Cyber Security
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9 With increased reliance on technology and digital platforms, local government has become more vulnerable to cyber threats. Safeguarding sensitive council data and ensuring the integrity of our critical systems are paramount. The council has routinely invested in robust cyber security measures and training to protect our data and employees. Building resilience in the face of evolving threats is essential to ensure the smooth operation of council services and maintaining our citizen’s trust. 82% of employees indicated in the last year their Cyber awareness had increased due to ICT campaigns. The aim is to continue with our campaigns and schedule additional in-person sessions to encourage awareness and discussion. The security team also recently developed a dedicated Cyber intranet page for employees to visit and find guidance and information, this page will be developed further in the coming year. P&T has recently completed a new Cyber Incident Response Plan and this will be exercised with Council senior leaders during 2025 via the Scottish Government. ICT are currently upgrading backup technology and drafting a new data backup strategy, this will be finalised in the coming months. To enhance our security posture and mitigate the threat of Cyber-attack, the Council have registered an interest in a national procurement via Scotland Excel to consider a 24/7 managed Security Operations Centre (SOC). In 2025/26 we will further secure the next phase of Council’s Technology Infrastructure. Embracing Next Generation Technology Next generation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and advanced machine learning present significant opportunities and the Council must accelerate adoption of these technologies. AI solutions such as CoPilot need to become an integral part of everyday tools to provide employees with virtual assistants as resources reduce and workloads increase, it is essential to be adventurous in automation and enable data technology to encourage a data driven strategy and culture. ICT has piloted an Artificial Intelligence Note Taking solution and this will be expanded to Council services during 2025. In addition, further opportunities will be undertaken to explore AI and automate processes and drive efficiency. Improving Bandwidth and Internet capacity There is increased demand for data and bandwidth due to a surge in employees accessing cloud services such as MS Teams video meetings, this demand will increase further in 2025 due to remaining Council services migrating to SharePoint and One Drive. ICT has completed Phase 1 of a 2-year improvement project to transform the Council’s external network and ensure council locations have fit for purpose bandwidth available. Phase 2 of the project is scheduled to be completed by July 25. This project has improved the digital workplace experience for employees and assisted in enhancing teaching and learning across our education establishments. An upgrade to the Councils external internet line is currently in planning and this improvement will ensure that internet connectivity to the outside world is fit for future and secure as the Councils cloud strategy gathers pace. By July 2025 ICT will complete phase 2 of the improvement project and deliver next phase of fit for purpose bandwidth capacity to all council locations.
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10 ICT Device Review Project ICT will undertake the annual device review project for PCs, laptops, and mobile phones that are reaching end of life and or 5- year refresh point as per the ICT Strategy 2023-28. In 2025/26 we will complete review of devices due to be replaced. Information Communications and Technology (ICT) Team Reductions The savings options agreed to deliver the 2025/26 budget have resulted in a resource reduction in the ICT team. ICT provides centralised services across the Council and partnerships, including Health and Social Care Partnership, West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust and Valuation Joint Board. The service includes delivery and support of network infrastructure to provide access to critical business systems such as finance, social care, housing, and desktop office applications such as MS Teams, email and office 365 suite. In addition, ICT delivers and supports technology across all educational establishments. The reduction in resources will see changes to the service delivery and response times. In 2025/26 we will Implement ICT revised team structure and adjust service provision. People and Change Fit for Future Reviews (FfF) In 2020, to support continuous improvement, the Council embarked on a programme of Fit for Future service reviews. Using a range of tools that encapsulates service design and employee engagement, information is gathered and reviewed to identify improvements and to ensure our services are efficient and that we make the best use of our resources. During 2024/25 we reviewed the programme and identified some changes to ensure it continues to meet the service needs. During 2025/26, FfF will support a programme of reviews across the services in conjunction with 365 to identify and support service savings initiatives. Enhanced HR Support - Revised Team Structures The ongoing rationalisation of resources and development of service efficiencies has resulted in many restructures and an increased reliance on SHR. Focus and resources require to be directed to more reactive activities such as VS/VER, legislative changes and the application and implementation of the HR people policies. During 2025/26 job profiles will be reviewed to support efficiencies when service restructures are undertaken. People & Change Team Restructure Following agreement at the Council Meeting in March 2025, People & Change Services will progress a team restructure to deliver savings. The People & Change team will reduce the number of posts and delivering compliance with the Council’s
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11 Strategic Operating Model. In addition, there will be a reduction to the Organisational Development Team with employees being realigned under one of the People and Change Partners. This will be delivered as part of a wider service review of the People and Technology service. During 2025/26 we will Implement People & Change Team Restructure including reduction of Organisational Development Team. Improve The Employee Life Cycle The employee life cycle is made up of 5 key steps. Step 1, the recruitment life cycle begins when a need for a post is identified until the point where the preferred candidate is identified was reviewed in 23/24. In 2024/25, Step 2 Onboarding, the process of integrating new employees into the organisation and preparing them for their new roles and work environment, from the point of being offered the post up to 1 year of being in the new role was reviewed and changes implemented to streamline, improve and modernise supports for new employees. In 2025/26 we will implement the findings and initiate review of Step 3, development, providing employee training to develop additional skills to help employees become more successful by reviewing the current tools and participation to optimise employee development opportunities. Health & Safety Continue to manage council risk and ensure sound Health & Safety practices are embedded. Achieving compliance with legislative requirements in the management of asbestos. Working alongside the Fit for Future team in developing better ways of working by utilising available online resources and different approaches to data management. The team will continue to target the ongoing delivery of our annual H&S plan as, through this, we have identified the necessary priorities for our team to ensure ongoing Council compliance with statutory requirements and best H&S practice. Poor H&S practice creates significant risk for the council both in terms of financial and reputational damage. Following saving initiatives there will be a revised team structure. In 2025/26 we will review the H&S processes against the introduction of M365 to deliver a more streamlined approach to H&S including efficiencies. Transformation and Continuous Improvement Digital Transformation The People First Strategy is ensuring that we put people at the heart of our approach to digital transformation, this is supported by a more cohesive and holistic plan involving learning, engagement, wellbeing and workforce planning. This ambitious plan will ensure all aspects of the individual is considered as we progress with digital transformation from 2022-27.
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12 To facilitate this, the service needs a joined-up approach to supporting digital transformation, growing employee skills and working with citizens to adapt and change how services are delivered. To do this, structures require to be reviewed, and resources (financial and workforce) need to be identified to ensure plans and processes are in place alongside the ability to constantly monitor progress on keeping pace with digital transformation and technology. The speed of technological advancement has been rapidly increasing and will continue to do so. This will impact employees, citizens and services as the Council seeks to both capitalise and adapt to these. Additional support and upskilling have been evident with the rapid deployment of MS Teams, and this will continue as the team support the rollout and maximisation of M365/SharePoint. Managing and maximising data usage and improving skills is key to ensuring employees and users understand benefits and threats. If this is not continued it increases the potential for both reputational and financial risks. It will also impact decision making and understanding on progressing improvement activity and planning for the same. In 2025/26 we will continue to build good data practices/structures council-wide by maintaining looking to build on progress to date and enhancing our policies supporting digital transformation such as a council data strategy. We will also continue to support development of the WMS to aid wider process and digital transformation and continue to develop automations within transactional processes through collaborative practice, service design and maximising digital practice, through the reviewed Fit for Future programme. Technology is developing quickly and the Council needs to ensure that they keep pace in order to capitalise on the benefits this brings to service improvement, costs and delivery. This must be looked at collaboratively with users and employees to ensure understanding, best practice and skills required. In 2025/26 we will continue to progress our plan to mainstream digital transformation across the council. Business Resilience Service Core Plans The Civil Contingencies Officer has continued to support West Dunbartonshire’s resilience planning, and response arrangements to ensure adequate officers are trained at all levels throughout the Council and HSCP to support the Council’s response to any incident within West Dunbartonshire. Various plans have been developed and are reviewed annually, these assist with the Councils readiness to respond to emergencies and other unplanned events. In 22025/26 we will continue to maintain and manage the review process for Council & HSCP Core Plans. Business Continuity
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13 This includes managing the Council and HSCPs Business Continuity Plans (BCPs), this process is typically reviewed on an annual basis or following an incident or an event to ensure they remain fit for purpose. All BCPs essentially feed into the Strategic Business Continuity plan to provide reassurances to Chief Executive and Chief Officers that essential services have been considered, and adequate risk measures are put in place to minimise disruption. In 2025/26 we will continue to Manage and oversee the Business Continuity Process for the Council and HSCP. Power Resilience Power Resilience differs from Business Continuity Planning due to the complexities surrounding this risk. The aim of this work is to provide a robust and tested framework for the Council’s Power Resilience arrangements to a National Electricity Transmission System (NETS) failure incident. The purpose of this work is to provide confidence to the Chief Executive and Chief Officers that service managers have considered this risk, applied mitigation measures and raised awareness across their service, especially with employees. In 2025/26 we will progress plans to determine what our essential services are and how we can continue to deliver them, and at the same time prioritising those most at risk / vulnerable within our community. In 2025/26 we will continue to develop the Council and HSCP response and power resilience arrangements. Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement is central to all that we do. The actions set out in this section as well as those at an operational level not included in this Delivery Plan, demonstrate our commitment to continuous improvement and take account of the wider Best Value focus on vision and leadership; governance and accountability; effective use of resources; partnerships and collaborative working; working with communities; sustainability; and fairness and equality. Action Plan The challenges identified in Section 2 and the key factors identified in Section 3 have informed P&T priorities for 2025/26. Appendix 1 sets out the action plan to address them. It also includes: performance indicators and targets that will enable progress to be monitored and reported to stakeholders strategic workforce actions to address workforce issues identified in the planning process; and strategic and/or service risks. In relation to the latter, strategic risks represent the potential for the Council to take advantage of opportunities or fail to meet stated strategic objectives and those that require strategic leadership. Service risks relate to service delivery and represent the potential for impact on individual services, or the experience of those who work within the services, i.e. employees, partners,
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14 contractors and volunteers or service users and clients in receipt of the services provided. In identifying the relevant risks for 2025/26 and actions to mitigate them, the aim is to improve or maintain the current position (i.e. the current risk score) set out in the appendix. 4. Resources Finance People and Technology has a net revenue budget of £10.385m and a capital budget of £1.775m in 2025/26. A breakdown by section is set out below. A significant amount of budget allocated to ICT covers centralised systems. We will make the best use of the resources available to deliver on key priority areas and secure external/match funding where this is possible. Service Area Gross Expenditure 2025/26 (£m) Gross Income 2025/26 (£m) Net Expenditure 2025/26 (£m) Capital Budget 2025/26 (£m) Transactional 0.911 -0.017 0.894 0.000 Strategic People & Change 1.902 -0.055 1.848 0.047 ICT 5.590 -0.527 5.063 1.728 Central Admin Support 2.602 -0.022 2.580 0.000 Total 11.006 -0.621 10.385 1.775 Employees Employee Numbers The headcount and full-time equivalent employees in each section (as of 31st March 2025) are as follows: Service Area Headcount FTE Business Support (Corporate Admin Support, HR & Payroll Service Centre) 122 103.42
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15 Absence in 2024/25 The quarterly absence statistics for People and Technology are shown below together with the Council average for the same periods for comparison. The figures for People and Technology have been lower than the Council average throughout 2024/25. Absence in 2024/25 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Annual FTE days lost per FTE employee P&T Service 0.99% 1.38% 0.77% 2.07% 3.22 COUNCIL WIDE TOTAL 6.51% 5.67% 7.04% 6.51% 14.33 People & Change (Strategic HR, H&S, Risk, Change, OD & Digital) 38 32.39 ICT 56 52.94 TOTAL 216 188.75
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16 Appendix 1: Action Plan 4. Our Council Objective 10. Our workforce is resilient and skilled where digital technology supports service delivery for our residents Performance Indicator 2025/26 Target Owner Percentage of ICT helpdesk incidents fixed with half day of being logged. 70% James Gallacher % of our workforce who have declared a disability 2.2% Alison McBride % of our workforce who have stated they are LGBT 2.5% Alison McBride % of our workforce who are from a black minority ethnic group 1% Alison McBride Disability pay gap 10% Alison McBride The percentage of the highest paid 5% employees who are women 50% Alison McBride Gender pay gap 3% Alison McBride Percentage of Council employees who agree or strongly agree that in general, they feel valued in their role at WDC 75% Alison McBride % employee attendance improvement rate (teachers & local govt.) 1% Alison McBride
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17 Action Due Date Owner Further secure the next phase of the Council’s technology infrastructure 31 Mar 2026 James Gallacher Deliver next phase of fit for purpose bandwidth capacity to all Council locations 31 Mar 2026 James Gallacher Implement next phase of Microsoft 365 Sharepoint & One Drive 31 Mar 2026 James Gallacher Complete review of devices due to be replaced 31 Mar 2026 James Gallacher Review and explore next generation technologies 31 Mar 2026 James Gallacher Maintain and manage the review process for Council & HSCP Core Plans 31 Mar 2026 Scot McFarlane Manage and oversee the Business Continuity Process for the Council and HSCP 31 Mar 2026 Scot McFarlane Continue to develop the Council and HSCP response and power resilience arrangements 31 Mar 2026 Scot McFarlane Progress the plan to mainstream digital transformation across the council 31 Mar 2026 Alison McBride Workforce Planning: Develop and implement wellbeing, employee engagement, equality and learning and development plans to enable capabilities, improve resilience and promotion of a diverse workforce 31 Mar 2026 All Managers Workforce Planning: Develop and implement employee life cycle plans in line with the People First Strategy to attract and retain the workforce 31 Mar 2026 All Managers Workforce Planning: Develop and implement learning and development opportunities to improve capabilities and resilience within the workforce. 31 Mar 2026 All Managers Workforce Planning: Implement service review process including role design, use of new technology and new ways of working to add resilience, address gaps, and establish opportunities for efficiencies 31 Mar 2026 All Managers
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18 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Owner Workforce Management System not fit for purpose There is a risk that the WMS system is not fit-for-purpose thereby requiring manual workarounds restricting the level of automation impacting on efficiencies Arun Menon Challenges in protecting the Health and Safety of Employees and Others Failure to meet the Council’s duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of its employees and other people who might be affected by its business Alison McBride Complexities in ensuring an appropriately resourced and resilient workforce Failure to ensure that there is an appropriately resourced and resilient workforce in place to meet future organisational needs, in effectively executing the Council’s 2022-27 Strategic Plan. Alison McBride Threat of Cyber-attack Data, systems and/or infrastructure are impacted as result of security attacks which are increasing in number at a time when this threat is already placing demands on resources to deliver increased levels of security controls. James Gallacher Objective 11. Our Council is adaptable and focused on delivering best value for our residents Action Due Date Owner Implement statutory payroll changes 31 Mar 2026 Arun Menon
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19 Action Due Date Owner Undertake annual payroll audit 31 Mar 2026 Arun Menon Implement CAS team reduction and adjust service provision 31 Mar 2026 Arun Menon Progress outsourcing of Print Room 31 Mar 2026 Arun Menon Implement the Fit for Future programme of reviews. 31 Mar 2026 Alison McBride Continue to embed key Health and Safety practices. 31 Mar 2026 Alison McBride Improve employee life cycle and optimise employee development opportunities 31 Mar 2026 Alison McBride Implement People & Change Team Restructure including reduction of Organisational Development Team 31 Mar 2026 Alison McBride Undertake a strategic review of job profiles across the Council 31 Mar 2026 Alison McBride Implement ICT revised team structure and adjust service provision 31 Mar 2026 James Gallagher Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Owner Keeping abreast of developments in the innovative use of Information Technologies Failure to keep pace with changing technology environment James Gallacher