COUNCIL officers in York are being asked to make their reports easier to read and keep them shorter in a bid to cut costs.

The guidance is being issued among key staff at City of York Council because the authority says councillors and the public do not have time to read long documents, while it is also asking for them to be written in larger letters.

But the move has been criticised by one of the city’s leading councillors, who says requests for reports to be no more than six pages long are a case of “dumbing down” and a “nanny state” approach.

The new report-writing protocol said it was designed to “provide the public with relevant information in a clear, consistent and professional way”.

As well as covering issues such as when reports are needed, what they should include and advice on structure and deadlines, it also offers style and length tips, saying: “Reports should be kept as concise as possible with any accompanying annexes kept to a minimum.

“Neither councillors nor the public have the time to read large numbers of detailed, lengthy reports. Long reports are also time-consuming to access in electronic form.”

The protocol said councillors had asked for the maximum length of reports to be six pages, adding: “The council is striving to keep its print costs for meetings within budget and cannot afford to produce large amounts of unnecessary paperwork.”

Conservative group leader Ian Gillies said: “This guidance says everything the council produces now has to be in large type in order to be inclusive. But at a time when councils across the country are being asked to cut back in paper, they are doing the opposite and adding costs.

“We have been told this will encourage shorter, more concise reports, but there’s another term for this – dumbing down. There are many reports dealing with complicated issues which cannot be shortened.

“The advantage of modern technology is that it can be tailored to the individual and a person who needs larger type can enlarge it themselves on-screen or request it. This is yet another example of the nanny state.”

The council has said following the protocol will ensure “consistency” and help councillors make “balanced” decisions.