Council job supporting statement: how councils shortlist

A council supporting statement is written against the person specification for the post. The five councils in the table below each say they shortlist from the information you give them, and Lewisham and Oxford say you have to show every essential criterion to be shortlisted. The councils name the section differently, so the table gives each council's own words.

What councils tell applicants

The table follows five councils' application guidance. Lewisham's page shows "Published on: 09/12/2025" and Cambridge's PDF carries the version date February 2026. The Oxford, Coventry and Islington pages show no date. Each is one council's page, so your own advert and pack come first.

Council	What it calls the section	The instruction, in its words	What it says about length
Lewisham	"supporting statement", in the application form	Explain "how you think you meet each of the person specification criterion marked with an 'S'"	No limit given
Oxford City Council	"supporting statement"	"provide evidence by giving specific examples for each of these" (the essential and desirable criteria in the role profile)	No limit given; the application should be "clear, concise and easy to read"
Cambridge City Council	"supporting statement", where one is required, with an online application and a CV	"Directly reference the person specification and job description"	No limit given; "clear, concise examples are more persuasive than long narratives"
Coventry City Council	"personal statement", and "supporting statement" in the same section	"your response is in line with the person specification of the role you are applying for"	No limit given; "Keep it relevant and succinct"
Islington	"supporting information"	"Address each of these criteria in order" (the essential criteria, each with a code such as E1, E2, E3)	No limit given; "clearly and concisely"

Cambridge says "submit a completed online application and your CV", and adds "Where a supporting statement is required". Lewisham differs: "Please do not send in a CV unless the advert for the post specifically asks you to do this", because "only completed application forms will normally be considered".

None of the five pages gives a length. The length guide shows how to decide when your advert gives none.

How the five shortlist

• Lewisham says "Completed application forms are matched against the essential requirements outlined in the person specification", and only people who show "all the essential criteria" can be shortlisted for interview. After a large response, "the manager may decide to carry out a testing exercise" before interview.
• Oxford says that once it has your application it will "assess it against the essential and desirable criteria listed in the role profile", and you "need to demonstrate that you meet all" the essential ones to be shortlisted.
• Cambridge says "shortlisting is based solely on the information you provide" and "If it isn't included, we cannot assume competence". It adds that concrete examples are "what the panel scores during shortlisting".
• Coventry says "We will not be able to shortlist against answers which are too short in response e.g. 'please see CV'."
• Islington says it will "assess your skills, experience and knowledge against the essential criteria in the job description". If you do not explain how you meet each essential criterion, "we might easily assume you aren't right for the job".

None of the five pages gives a scoring scale. The shortlisting guide reads scales that other employers have published.

The council's own competencies and values

Flintshire's pack for a Learning Disability Support Worker post, with a footer dated 2 May 2018 (V1), has a table headed "Flintshire County Council Core Behavioral Competencies". All six are marked Essential and "Application/Interview": Customer First, Working Smarter, Working Together/Partnership, Communication, Change, and Leading and Managing. The pack says "It is therefore important that you demonstrate on your application how you meet all of the essential requirements." The support worker guide reads the rest of that pack.

Cambridge asks you to treat the supporting statement as your "personal case for selection", "highlighting relevant achievements, skills and behaviours aligned with our Values & Behaviours". The PDF lists these values: Collaborative, Courageous, Compassionate and Accountable.

Laying out the statement

• Lewisham: you "may find it easier to list each person specification criteria as a heading, and then address each one with a separate paragraph".
• Islington: take the criteria "in order".
• Coventry: anything that "doesn't respond to requirements listed in the advert / person specification" should be left out or "only be mentioned briefly towards the end".
• Oxford: use "I", not "we", "so that we can understand what you were personally responsible for doing".
• Oxford: examples can come from previous work experience, or from "any community, voluntary or leisure activity you have been involved in".

The shape of one answer

Oxford suggests Context, Action, Result. Coventry asks for examples using STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result), and Lewisham for the "STAR approach". The three lines of each block below follow that order: where, what you did, what happened.

The two criteria below are the descriptions of two of Flintshire's competencies, Customer First and Working Together/Partnership. The short lines after "Made up" are invented to show how much one line holds. Use things that really happened to you.

Criterion: "Understand our customers (internal and external) and deliver high quality services to meet and exceed their expectation"

• When and where: the setting and the dates. Made up: the box office of a theatre, weekends, 2023 to 2025.
• What you did: one task you handled yourself, in plain words. Made up: logged each refund request at the desk and phoned back every customer who had been promised a call, within two working days.
• What happened: what changed for the customer or the service. Made up: fewer customers came back to the box office about the same refund.

Criterion: "Building and maintaining positive relationships in order to deliver better services for our customers and employees"

• When and where: the setting and the dates. Made up: a volunteer on a school holiday play scheme, August 2024.
• What you did: one task you handled yourself, in plain words. Made up: agreed the daily rota with two other volunteers and the site manager, and checked it with them each Friday for the following week.
• What happened: what changed for the people you worked with. Made up: the scheme ran for all four weeks with no day short of helpers.

Before you submit

• Each criterion has a heading or a numbered point, in the order of the person specification.
• Any line marked for the application form or the supporting statement has its own example.
• Every essential criterion has an example, since Lewisham and Oxford shortlist only people who show all of them.
• You have written "I", not "we".
• No answer says "please see CV".
• Each competency or value the pack names has an example.

You can also check your draft against the person specification to see which criteria still have no example.