Back to basics for Harrow Council

Oct 7 2008 By Elaine Okyere

Traffic wardens and lollipop men are making a comeback after council officials decided to dump complex jargon.

Harrow Council has taken the step of reverting back to plain English so residents can understand what switchboard staff and council employees are saying. The worst culprit words included civil enforcement officers and civic amenity sites which will be transformed to traffic wardens and rubbish tip.

Councillor Paul Osborn, Harrow Council's portfolio holder for communication, said: "Every organisation uses jargon to some degree, but we know that councils have been among the worst offenders in the past.

"We are now working to ensure that council terms, which can include all sorts of baffling acronyms, don't get used when we talk to the public. Our residents want to hear plain speaking and that is what we'll deliver."