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Making Numbers Make Sense: The Plain Numbers Approach

18 June 2025 - by Catherine Bright

Have you ever looked at a council tax bill, a benefits form, or a government report and felt your eyes glaze over at the sight of percentages, thresholds, or financial jargon? You’re not alone—and neither are the people we serve.

SDS recently delivered a series of training sessions for Waverley Borough Council, all aimed at improving communication with customers. Exploring plain numbers is a new addition to this series and is a real game changer when it comes to engaging customers.

Why Plain Numbers Matter

Did you know that nearly half of working-age adults in the UK struggle with numeracy? That’s not just a statistic, it’s a barrier to employment, financial stability, healthcare access, and civic participation. Add in conditions like dyscalculia and maths anxiety, and it’s clear: numbers can be a real source of stress and confusion for many.

For local authorities, this has serious implications. If residents can’t understand the numbers in our communications—whether it’s about council tax, benefits, or service eligibility—they may disengage, miss out on support, or make poor decisions. That’s where Plain Numbers comes in.

What Is the Plain Numbers Approach?

Plain Numbers is a UK-based initiative that helps organisations present numerical information in a way that’s clear, relatable, and trustworthy. The approach focuses on:

  • Prioritising the numbers customers actually need
  • Putting the numbers in context using clear story telling of what the numbers are about
  • Focusing on the customer and how they think

Using this approach we transformed these complex, technical sentences into something everyone can understand:

Finance
Before: Annual percentage rate (APR) of 7.39% on balances up to £3,000 with compounding quarterly.
After: If you borrow £1,000, you’ll pay about £74 a year in interest.

Healthcare
Before: The treatment has a 0.8% risk of complications.
After: Out of every 1,000 people, about 8 might have complications.

Benefits
Before: Eligibility is based on a means-tested threshold of £16,000 in savings.
After: If you have more than £16,000 in savings, you won’t qualify for this benefit.

Environmental
Before: This project will reduce CO₂ emissions by 1.2 million metric tons annually.
After: That’s like taking 260,000 cars off the road each year.

We also looked at examples of applying this approach to pay slips and energy bills and worked together as a group to apply the approach to a council tax bill.

Top Take Away Tips

  • Focus on what the customer needs to know or do.
  • Prioritise Key numbers – don’t overload with data.
  • Tell the story around the numbers.
  • Use analogies and comparisons to make abstract figures concrete.
  • Round smartly.
  • Avoid jargon.
  • Break things down step-by-step.
  • Be consistent with how you write numbers and dates.

Get Involved

To find out more about the Plain Numbers initiative and the training they provide please get in touch with Plain Numbers. 

If you are interested in our training on writing for customers and creating effective content please just let us know.