30 November 2009
By David Williams
Obscure or unintelligible language in the public sector should be officially regarded as ‘maladministration’, an MPs’ inquiry has found.
Bad language: the use and abuse of official language, was published by the Commons public administration select committee on November 30.
It concludes that members of the public should have the right to complain when the use of meaningless jargon results in ‘tangible harm’.
The committee said that when someone is unable to receive services or benefits they are entitled to because they have been confused or misled, official bodies should be obliged to respond properly or face the relevant ombudsman.
Committee chair Tony Wright said: ‘Good government requires good language, while bad language is a sign of poor government.
‘Far too often, government uses language that obscures, confuses or evades.’
The report says baffling language deserves to be mocked, but argues it is a serious issue because politics should never exclude the public.
It identifies an idiom used in government that resembles nothing written or spoken in the real world. ‘The unlovely language of this unreal world floats along on a linguistic sea of roll-outs, step changes, public domains, fit for purposes, stakeholder engagements, across the pieces, win-wins, level playing fields and going forwards,’ the report says.
The committee underlined the importance of balancing the precision of legislative language with the need for it to be understood by ordinary people. It said the government should make the statute book more accessible.
This could involve drafting laws in simpler language, providing explanatory notes and rewriting existing legislation.
