As in previous years, the past twelve months have brought both challenges and opportunities for Penderels Trust. Many of these are explored in detail in the Chief Executive’s report. The social care sector continues to face uncertainty, particularly around funding, which remains a significant pressure point. Despite this, I am proud to say that Penderels Trust has maintained a strong position, consistently delivering high-quality services to the people we support.

A key strategic priority for us remains the development of our digital offer. We are committed to identifying innovative solutions that make managing a direct payment or financial support simpler and more accessible. Our aim is to empower individuals to take control of their support, whenever and however they choose. Our online payroll system, My View, is one example of this, with over 4000 payroll customers now accessing their information digitally. You can read more about this service in this report.

This year has also seen changes to our Board of Trustees. We were sorry to say goodbye to Jane Heppel and Andrew Reece, and we thank them sincerely for their valuable contributions. At the same time, we are delighted to welcome Mark McGillicuddy and Victoria Davies, who joined the Board earlier this year. Both bring a wealth of senior management experience and are already making a positive impact on our organisation. We are still keen to recruit trustees from a range of backgrounds, including those who use our services or support someone who does.

Finally, while this report contains many figures and statistics, I would like to leave you with just two:

• 16,005 – the number of individuals we have supported this year through direct payments, payroll services, appointeeships, and money management programmes. They remain at the heart of everything we do.
• 217 – the number of dedicated Penderels Trust employees who work tirelessly to provide exceptional service to those who need our support. On behalf of the Board, I extend our heartfelt thanks to this remarkable team for their hard work and commitment throughout another busy year.

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Andrew Ford, Chair