New list published of 250 words the public sector shouldn't use

The annual list of words that shouldn’t be used by the public sector to talk to people has today been published by the Local Government Association.

The latest list of 250 words has been taken from the European Union, central government, quangos, regional government, business management speak and public relations phrases. Council leaders are concerned that in the midst of such a tough financial climate a failure by the public sector to explain to people the benefits from what they pay in taxes could make the difference between an individual staying afloat or going bankrupt.

The list includes new words such as:

•  Trialogue
•  Wellderly
•  Goldfish bowl facilitated conversation
•  Tonality
•  Webinar
•  Under-capacitated
•  Clienting
•  Disbenefits

The previous list of non words included:

•  Taxonomy
•  Rebaselining
•  Mainstreaming
•  Holistic governance
•  Contestability
•  Predictors of beaconicity
•  Synergies

Just as it would be impossible for two IT professionals to speak to each other without using technical talk, it would be impossible for public sector experts to avoid using a degree of jargon.  However, the LGA Group believes that while there is a place for technical language to be used between experts, jargon must be removed from documents and publications that are aimed at the public.

Councils up and down the country are working to eradicate from their work as many of these words as possible and to help, the LGA Group has launched a plain English website to help all public bodies remove jargon. This can be found at http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8021380

Examples include:

•  Harrow Council announced that it would use the clearest English possible in dealing with phone calls, e-mails and visits from the public. It identified ‘seven sins of jargon’ which it told staff to stop using in conversation with the public, and provided plain English substitutes.
•  Leeds City Council has launched a 'How to communicate clearly' campaign featuring half-day workshops for staff. It includes tips on using plain English. Last year the council ran a 'Sign of the times' campaign for residents to identify where they thought there were confusing or out of date signs.
•  Liverpool City Council is considering changing job titles to help the public understand what staff do, and will ensure documents are written in plain English.
•  London Borough of Barking and Dagenham leaflets are checked by the Plain English Campaign before being sent out. All other communications are written using plain English guidelines.

Chairman of the Local Government Association, Dame Margaret Eaton, said:

“The public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases. Why do we have to have a ‘webinar trialogue for the wellderly’ when the public sector could just ‘talk about caring for the elderly’ instead?

“During the recession, it is vital that we explain to people in plain English how to get access to the services the public sector provides with taxpayers’ money.

“Any organisation that spends taxpayers’ money has a duty, not only to provide value for money to local people, but also to tell them what they get for the money they pay. People would be furious if they had no idea of what services their cash is paying for and how they should get to use them.

”Councils are leading the public sector in trying to inform residents about the services they offer. From claiming council tax benefit and helping older people get a lift to the shops, to telling people how they can get their old fridges picked up or report fly-tipping, people need to know what is available to them.

”Unless information is given to people to explain what help they can get during a recession, it could well lead to more people ending up homeless or bankrupt. 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.”

ends

Download 250 banned words (PDF, 2 pages, 35KB)

Author: LGA Media Office
Contact: LGA Media Team, Tel: 020 7664 3333