Forum Topic

No more WELCOME from Ealing Council, so it seems

       It beggars belief that the L G A can spend time, and money , on such rubbish as this ( note Multi-cultural and multi-ethnic are still standing)and what the reason for requiring avoidance of many of the words I cannot fathom :-         LGA banned words - full listHere is the full list of 200 words which the Local GovernmentAssociation says should not be used by councils:Across-the-pieceActionedAdvocateAgenciesAmbassadorArea basedArea focusedAutonomousBaselineBeaconBenchmarkingBest PracticeBlue sky thinkingBottom-UpCAAsCan do cultureCapabilitiesCapacityCapacity buildingCascadingCautiously welcomeChallengeChampionCitizen empowermentClientCohesive communitiesCohesivenessCollaborationCommissioningCommunity engagementCompactConditionalityConsensualContestabilityContextualCore developmentsCore MessageCore principlesCore ValueCoterminosityCoterminousCross-cuttingCross-fertilisationCustomerDemocratic legitimacyDemocratic mandateDialogueDirection of travelDistorts spending prioritiesDouble devolutionDownstreamEarly WinEdge-fitEmbeddedEmpowermentEnablerEngagementEngaging usersEnhanceEvidence BaseExemplarExternal challengeFacilitateFast-TrackFlexFlexibilities and FreedomsFrameworkFulcrumFunctionalityFunding streamsGateway reviewGoing forwardGood practiceGovernanceGuidelinesHolisticHolistic governanceHorizon scanningImprovement leversIncentivisingIncome streamsIndicatorsInitiativeInnovative capacityInspectoratesInterdepartmentalInterfaceIterationJoined upJoint workingLAAsLevel playing fieldLeverLeverageLocalitiesLowlightsMAAsMainstreamingManagement capacityMeaningful consultationMeaningful dialogueMechanismsMenu of OptionsMulti-agencyMultidisciplinaryMunicipalitiesNetwork modelNormalisingOutcomesOutcomesOutputOutsourcedOverarchingParadigmParameterParticipatoryPartnership workingPartnershipsPathfinderPeer challengePerformance NetworkPlace shapingPooled budgetsPooled resourcesPooled riskPopulacePotentialitiesPractitionersPredictors of BeaconicityPreventative servicesPrioritizationPriorityProactiveProcess drivenProcureProcurementPromulgateProportionalityProtocolProvider vehiclesQuantumQuick hitQuick winRationalisationRebaseliningReconfiguredResource allocationRevenue StreamsRisk basedRobustScaled-backScopingSector wiseSeedbedSelf-aggrandizementService usersShared priorityShell developmentsSignpostSingle conversationsSingle point of contactSituationalSlippageSocial contractsSocial exclusionSpatialStakeholderStep changeStrategicStrategic prioritiesStreamlinedSub-regionalSubsidiaritySustainableSustainable communitiesSymposium ­­SynergiesSystematicsTaxonomyTested for SoundnessThematicThinking outside of the boxThird sectorToolkitTop-downTrajectoryTrancheTransactionalTransformationalTransparencyUpstreamUpward trendUtiliseValue-addedVision ­VisionaryWelcomeWellbeingWorklessnessStory from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7949077.stmPublished: 2009/03/18 10:19:38 GMT

Tony Price ● 6383d13 Comments

Do these people have nothing better to do with their day?

Jean F Fernandez ● 6383d

Some of the words and phrases are ghastly Americanisms which we would do better not to use. Others are misused English words.It would help if grammar and spelling were improved but I suppose we'd need more native English speakers for that and with the sorry state of education it might be only a small improvement.

Alan Brainsby ● 6383d

Re  Do these people have nothing better to do with their day?           xxxxxxxxxxxxx      as you say Jean, the mind boggles. Now we can see why other PC twoddle is so prevalent. To think someone not only sits down and dreams up this tripe, and no doubt committees sit and discuss each word at great length, but has the gall to publish it. No wonder the economy is going down the tube with this sort of unproductivity  abroad. And by persons most unlikely to be adversely affected  by the credit crunch and with an inflation proofed pension at the end of a totally worthless career.

Tony Price ● 6383d

Imagine if those people worked for the FSA instead. We'd be in deeper sh*t than we currently are.Shame that they are paid to do it though.

Alan Brainsby ● 6383d

Re  Some of the words and phrases are ghastly Americanisms which we would do better not to use.              xxxxxxxxxxxxxx    we must give credit where it's due Alan ,and there are lots of Americanisms in use today resulting from " inventions " made in The States and for which there would be no current suitable word in the English language. Such words have also crept into the bastion of inwardlooking languages, ie French, and that says something. Words and phrases in the IT world are classic examples, and which have helped to make our language into the world language. But to say the word " welcome " should not be used is beyond my conception. I wish a reason were issued with each " banned " word so as to give us an insight into the mind of the author(s).

Tony Price ● 6383d

Re  We'd be in deeper sh*t than we currently are.            xxxxxxxxxxxx      trouble is we don't really know how deep we are in, much deeper than led to believe I wager.

Tony Price ● 6383d

My feeling is deeper and longer.Based on some of I K Brunel's logic: if one's not sure, double it and add 50%!Things might pick up by 2013 but we'll still be paying for it in 2020.Can we scrap the 2012 Olympics while we're still ahead, please?

Alan Brainsby ● 6383d

Re  Can we scrap the 2012 Olympics           xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  and lose all those millions of new jobs?, you know, those British jobs for British workers

Tony Price ● 6383d

"To think someone not only sits down and dreams up this tripe, and no doubt committees sit and discuss each word at great length, but has the gall to publish it."It's not tripe, quite the opposite.  They are trying to get councils to stop spouting the sort of management-speak that ordinary people don't understand.  The full list of 200 words, together with examples of better alternatives, is athttp://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=1716341"Welcome" is in the list as an adjective, as in "a welcome decision".  They suggest "necessary" or "needed" or "a step in the right direction".  I think that one is actually a bit borderline, but I'm certainly in favour of avoiding words like "revenue streams", "paradigm" and "leverage" when writing for the general public.For example, a random sentence from Ealing's site is: "The council’s role is concerned with ... rationalising engagement of employers."  I have no idea what that means.

Richard Jennings ● 6383d

Re  The full list of 200 words, together with examples of better alternatives, is at          xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx        that site does provide more info but why it needs a recession to make such changes apparently so necessary. I am not aware that members of the public have been hindered to date by use of these word / phrases. Lack of understanding of the native language of this country I think would be a greater impediment.

Tony Price ● 6383d

Let's hope this list gets much longer.The less time they think about writing, and the more they think about doing may give us a better service.

George Knox ● 6383d

Re  Do these people have nothing better to do with their day?        xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx      well it seems the Town Hall ain't taking much notice as when I drove passed this afternoon my attention was drawn to a campaigning group of who seemed to be Somalis on the steps with placards saying " Bring them home", but along came a blessed bendy bus and that was the end of my vision, but what I did notice was a large sign behind perspex put up by the Council, the heading of which was the verbotten word  WELCOME. Not to the campaigners but whoever approaches the Town Hall. BTW, thanks to the intervening bendy-bus I did not find out who was to be brought back home or where from.

Tony Price ● 6382d

Re: welcomeAt least it's in English. A few year's back it would have been (was?) repeated in every language possible.I wouldn't take the sign literally. Entrance or "way in" or "long wait ahead" would be much more appropriate.BTW why don't FGW use welcome for late (overdue) trains?  It's a wonderful euphemism. Maybe councils should use it!

Alan Brainsby ● 6382d