The Government's recent consultation on including efficiency information on council tax bills tells us there is a distinct relationship between how well people feel informed about their council and their perception that it operates efficiently.

The Government feels it needs to take a lead on considering the best way to publically provide efficiency information so we can be held to account.
The nature of easily understood information is that it will be bland and hide the service complexities behind all the different efficiencies that could be reported for three distinct years. However, there is a real interest in what efficiency gains councils are planning.
It feels like local government is being dragged again into a forced external reporting regime because we have failed to address the information our local communities are interested in. Have we all been spending too much time implementing the latest set of accounting standards changes, fearful of an unclean audit certificate?
We all know efficiency gains are rarely achieved in smooth tranches and investment is often required. Simple comparisons on a council tax bill will provide headline fodder for local papers.
It might be standardardised but comparability will always require more detailed explanation of local circumstances. What we need is a rethink of what is included on the leaflet accompanying council tax bills.
As the economic downturn starts to put pressure on our budgets, we need our efficiency gains to stand still. However, there will be a public expectation that significant efficiencies should lead to reduced bills. We need to explain our cost pressures and the impact of floor level Government grant increases so there can be a proper holding to account of local and national government.
Mary Hawkins is director of finance at Warwick DC and president of the Society of District Council Treasurers