Council, in English please

Rochdale Borough Council has been told to stop using complicated jargon and make documents more readable, as part of a national move made by the LGA.

The stern word has been issued to councils across the country to “speak in clear English”, with 200 words being banned from their vocabulary.

The aim of this new idea is to break down barriers and “discharge an oversight of governance”, so council documents can be read and understood by those who do not have a political knowledge.

The LGA claims voters will be “less confused” as a result.

A Rochdale Borough Council spokesperson said: “We 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. If we don’t 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.”

Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr Margaret Eaton, said: “The public sector must not hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases. Why do we have to have ‘coterminous, stakeholder engagement’ when we could just ‘talk to people’ instead?

“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.”

Words that have been banned include:

• taxonomy
• re-baselining
• mainstreaming
• holistic governance
• contestability
• predictors of beaconicity
• synergies

HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you understand Council lingo? Do you agree with the move?

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