- Media & Campaigns
- Press releases
- 2007
- December 2007
- Results of chewing gum campaign 'remarkable'
- Councils look forward to greater consistency on live music licensing
- Needless parking fine appeals waste public money
- LGA response to flooding report
- New brand for local government launched
- Councils should get powers to appoint and dismiss police and NHS chiefs
- Ground breaking agreement signed by central and local government
- Six key services affected by migration
- Councils help battle for plain English
- Council leaders respond to Councillors’ Commission
- New concordat catalyst to better social care
- Response to government announcement on translation services
- Councils to face ‘tough choices’ in local government finance settlement
- Council leaders respond to latest reorganisation announcement
- Councils could help cut carbon emissions by one third by 2020
- People denied access to vital services without council communications
- Urgent action needed to prevent repeat of summer floods - LGA
- Official figures show councils are cracking down on litter louts
- Councils given green light to transform learning disability services
Councils help battle for plain English
LGA news release - 11 December 2007
Ahead of the annual National Plain English Day, the Local Government Association, a cross party organisation representing councils in England, today published a list of words that public bodies should try not to use if they want to communicate effectively with local people.
The LGA ‘non-word’ list, which has been sent to councils across the country today, sets out 100 words that all public sector bodies should avoid when talking to people about the work they do and the services they provide.
Words included on the ‘non word’ list include:
- coterminosity
- empowerment
- multidisciplinary
- place shaping
- sustainable communities
Council leaders have highlighted that unless local authorities talk to people in a language that they can understand then the work they do becomes inaccessible and reduces the chances of them getting involved in their local issues.
Chairman of the Local Government Association, Sir Simon Milton, said:
“Plain English Day is a timely reminder for all of us that we can not, must not and should not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases. 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.
“Why do we have to have ‘coterminous, stakeholder engagement’ when we could just ‘talk to people’ instead?
“Councils have a duty, not only to provide value for money to local people, but also to tell people what they get for the tax they pay. People would be furious if they had no idea of what services their cash was paying for and how they could get to use them.
”Councils provide more than 800 different services from archaeology to zoology. It is absolutely vital that residents are told how to access services, from claiming council tax benefit discounts and how older people can get a lift to the shops, to telling people how they can get their old fridges picked up or how to report criminals who flytip.
”Without explaining what a council does in proper English then local people will fail to understand its relevance to them or why they should bother to turn out and vote. Unless information is given to people to explain why their council matters then local democracy will be threatened with extinction.”
LGA banned words list (PDF, 2 pages, 39KB)
ENDS