18 March 2009
Source: LocalGov.co.uk ()

Councils 'banned' from using 200 words


Arun Marsh

The Local Government Association has released a list of 200 words which they say councils should not use.

The group says that councils should ban the use of words on the list of local govenment jargon if they want to communicate effectively with local people.

Words and phrases on the list include:
  • taxonomy
  • re-baselining
  • mainstreaming
  • holistic governance
  • contestability
  • predictors of beaconicity
  • synergies 
The LGA says that council's need to talk to people in a language that they can understand to avoid becoming inaccessible, which can reduce the chances of people getting help during the recession.

Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr Margaret Eaton, said the public sector must not hide behind 'impenetrable jargon and phrases'.

'During the recession, it is vital that we explain to people in plain English how to get access to the eight hundred different services that local government provides with taxpayers’ money.
 
'Unless information is given to people to explain what help they can get during a recession then it could well lead to more people ending up homeless or bankrupt. If a council fails to explain what it does in plain English then local people will fail to understand its relevance to them or why they should bother to turn out and vote.
 
'We do not pretend to be perfect, but as this list shows, we are striving to make sure that people get the chance to understand what services we provide.'

The move has caused a stir amongst some local government figures

Cllr James Cousins from Wandsworth LBC wants to keep 'coterminous' in the council lexicon and said on microblogging site, Twitter: 'Getting rid of jargon is a good thing, but don't throw out good words with it.'

Consultant Ben Proctor has launched the 'Campaign to Save Coterminous' on his blog and says the LGA's suggested alternative of 'singing from the same hymn sheet'  does not mean the same thing.

'I was distraught to learn that they were seeking to murder "coterminous" which I have always found to be a useful, elegant and unambiguous word. The LGA suggests "singing from the same hymn sheet" and this gets to the heart of what we should really be focusing on,' said Proctor.

'Coterminous doesn't mean "singing from the same hymn sheet". Coterminous means (according to my New Oxford English Dictionary) "having the same boundaries or extent in space, time or meaning". It can be used to form the question "When the primary care trusts are reorganised, will the trust boundaries be coterminous with district council boundaries?".'

He goes on to say that often the problem isn't the words themselves but how they are used.

'When people are using words but they don't know what they mean, it is pretty clear that the problem isn't the words.'

Full list of banned terms.



Your comments

I'm fairly sure that the vast majority of the population never use the word coterminous and that most people won't understand it. It's a shame that Ben Proctor is distraught about the LGA's suggestion but perhaps he can take comfort from the fact that there are nearly always simpler alternatives to such pretentious words, even if the LGA's suggestion is perhaps not the best. In the example Ben uses about primary care trust boundaries wouldn't "the same as" do?

Keith Harcus, Assistant Chief Executive, South Tyneside Council, Added: Friday, 20 March 2009 11:27 AM

As well as using plain English, it helps to use correct English. In "The LGA says that council's need to talk to people in a language that they can understand to avoid becoming inaccessible, which can reduce the chances of people getting help during the recession.", the use of the apostrophe is incorrect!

Gil Green, Senior Analyst/Programmer, Nottingham City Council, Added: Thursday, 19 March 2009 09:55 AM



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