Budget consultation must be jargon free

Council spending decisions are often couched in impenetrable language.

Last year the Local Government Association (LGA) released a list of words councils should avoid, while Telegraph columnist Andrew Gilligan recently slammed what he called "non-sultations".

Having asked the director of finance to draw plans for an open budget setting process, cabinet member for resources Richard Livingstone has now said that officers must use plain English - otherwise, one of the most important pieces of communications the council will ever do, will be a waste of time.

Some example phrases based words in the LGA list of banned jargon are

• "Stake-holder focused bottom-up dialogue..."
• "Reprioritising readjusted revenue and capital income streams"
• "Maximisation of resource opportunities"
• "Ensure appropriate client eligibility criteria are set and service delivery outcomes and output are achieved"

There is also the LGA list of banned words.

To support the bid for plain English, he is asking residents to log on to the website and nominate examples of council-speak that should be avoided when it comes to the consultation. Residents can email daniel.mazliah@southwark.gov.uk.

Councillor Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for resources, added
"It seems obvious and shouldn't need saying. But the truth is that it does. We have to avoid jargon when it comes to explaining the tough decisions we face.

"I have asked the director of finance to create a new framework to make the budget setting process as transparent as possible.

"But it is vital that we present budget options to residents in a language that means something to them.

"I don't want this to be a 'non-sultation'. I want the council to be open about the difficult decisions and not to hide behind a wall of impenetrable jargon.

"I think it is crucial that we are up front and honest about the scale of the financial pressures facing us and the significant impact that will result."

Background

On Tuesday 20 July, the cabinet agreed that the leader of the council would write to the Secretary of State to raise concerns over the fallout from the emergency budget on inner-London boroughs like Southwark.

At the meeting, cabinet member for resources Richard Livingstone confirmed that the council faced in-year cuts of £5.1m and was anticipating cuts of 25 per cent to its budget or approximately £76m over the next three years.

At the meeting the cabinet agreed:

• That the finance director be instructed to ask strategic directors to identify savings of 25% over the three years 2011/12 - 2013/14 in line with the public sector spending cuts.
• That the finance director be instructed to put together plans for approval by the leader and cabinet member for finance and resources, for public consultation in the autumn on the impact of the emergency budget over the next four years on the council to seek the community's views on their priorities for services and savings. View the report.