The Council
Our official title is ‘London Borough of Sutton’
We refer to ourselves as ‘Sutton Council’
‘Council’ is always capitalised
✔ The Council is pleased to announce...
‘Council’ is singular
❌ The Council are pleased to announce...
Directorates and teams
Capitalise specific directorates and teams
✔ She has joined the Resources Directorate.
✔ Sutton Council has many directorates.
Use your team name once, then use ‘we’
✔ The waste team has great news. We’ve just bought more bins.
People in the Council
When you introduce an individual, use their post title
✔ We welcomed Councillor John Smith.
After this, refer to them by name only
✔ John Smith then gave a speech.
Capitalise specific post titles
✔ We welcomed our new Chief Executive.
Do not capitalise generic post titles
✔ We have many councillors.
Never abbreviate ‘councillor’ to ‘Cllr.’
❌ Cllr. Smith stated that...
Use ‘councillor’, not ‘member’
Use ‘members of the committee’
✔ Councillor John Smith is one of the members of the committee.
Talk about ‘colleagues’, not ‘officers’
✔ One of our colleagues will get in touch with you.
❌ A council officer will get in touch with you.