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We need some Yorkshire plain speaking, council admits
Andrew Robinson IT takes a bit of Yorkshire grit to admit you were wrong all along. So spare a thought for Bradford Council which has just admitted a long-standing failure to use plain English – instead confusing us with jargon and impenetrable sentences.
The authority's leaders have accepted that, since the 2001 riots, they have been guilty of using confusing concepts such as "community cohesion" where simple words would have made more sense.
The Tory-led council has now promised to cut back on the flowery language, winning it praise from the Plain English Campaign.
A communication strategy is to be drawn up, four years on from the riots, with simple English at its core.
According to a council report, many members of the public haven't the faintest idea what the council is on about when it comes to race and community relations.
It says: "Community cohesion as a description has proven difficult for people inside and outside the council to understand...equality, civic pride and community relations were readily understood."
Debate about the riots and their aftermath has been stifled by such jargon, council chiefs have now admitted.
The plain English promise has the backing of council leader, Conservative councillor Margaret Eaton, who blamed "race relations" experts for developing confusing terms in the 70s and 80s.
"Community cohesion is a term created by the Government," she told the Yorkshire Post. "A lot of people have not the faintest idea what is implied by it."
She blamed "fashionable thinking" and political correctness for championing jargon.
The authority's decision to introduce a bit of plain-speaking – a renowned Yorkshire trait – will, however, be a major task and is likely to require a big culture change.
A flick through the council's own agenda, which includes the report on plain English, contains several long-winded and jargon-heavy sentences that would not look out of place in a sociology textbook.
Phrases such as: "The LAA methodology is a blueprint for increased efficiency...through the alignment of existing funding streams and the alignment of our multitude of policies and strategies" require more than a passing glance to understand.
Last night Plain English Campaign founder Chrissy Maher praised Bradford Council for getting rid of what she calls "social worker speak".
"It should be our right as ratepayers to get plain English. This council is to be congratulated, it shows it cares about people. This must be the first council in the country to come out and say this."
Ms Maher said plain speaking helped race relations. "When everyone understands the rules you get peace. Social worker speak isolates people and the people that use it don't even understand it themselves."
She believes use of jargon is on the rise, blaming the European Parliament for a rise in "Euro-jargon".
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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