SENIOR members of Blackburn with Darwen's cabinet have been warned that failure to explain why they do not meet targets for council services could lead to "embarrassments".

The deputy leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Gail Barton, told members of the executive board of the importance of the performance monitoring figures which measure how well they deliver services.

At a meeting of the board she also called on them to give clearer explanations when the services they are responsible for fail to meet their targets.

She said: "There is a large chunk of money from Public Service Agreements which rely on these figures.

"I would hope that the executive members would use a little less jargon about why they are meeting certain targets."

The figures monitor key indicators which will be used by government inspectors to assess how well the council is performing, and many have had targets laid down by government for the council to meet.

These range from how many food inspections are carried out by council inspectors and how quickly phones are answered to targets for education, dealing with council tenants and how well highways are cleaned.

One target Coun Barton highlighted as a "cause of concern" is turnout at local elections, which measures the "democratic health" of the borough.

She said and all party group of the council was looking at a number of options to deal with the small number of people who vote in local elections.

She said: "We need to pull together, increase that turnout and get people to exercise their democratic rights."