Andy Carter’s Blog

Read, see and hear my random ramblings

Andy's Log: July 20th

This is an edited/shortened version of my weekly blog which I write for work and is published on my council's intranet.  The views I express in this log are my own, professional, views as the head of communications but do not necessarily reflect those of the authority itself.

I’m going to refer back to my days as a broadcast journalist once again for the introduction to my log this week.

I used to look after more than 60 reporters and editors who were spread across 27 radio stations and one of my responsibilities, as the group head of news, was to provide legal advice to stations.

Usually it was guidance about how far the envelope could be pushed, but it was often to help out when the station had got into trouble. 

Reporters would ring and say ‘I said in the 3pm news that our local mayor’s limo had been seen parked up outside a strip club in the red light district of town and now he’s on the phone saying he’s going to sue for libel … what do I do?’

‘Hire a bloody good lawyer’ was my usual response.

The other issue was contempt of court.  For me, contempt of court is the fine line between being able to report on a really juicy story and not annoying the judge to the point where they send you to jail as well.

We got it wrong once and I had to face a really angry judge at Winchester Crown Court who wasn’t at all pleased that we ‘had threatened his trial’ with some rather inaccurate reporting at one of my stations.

I won’t bore you with the detail, but as they say, it was a real ‘squeaky bum’ moment as I stood in the dock and waited for His Honourship (no, I didn’t call him that) to decide my fate.  In the end he let me off, but it was a lesson hard learned.  It’s an experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone else.

Anyway, newspapers, radio and TV stations often publish or transmit loads of detail about crimes before the suspect(s) go to trial.  As the date of the court case approaches, the level of detail comes down and of course, when the trial is underway, the reporting has to be really ‘tame’ in order to ensure that the accused gets a fair hearing free from any ‘influence’ from the media.

I’ve always been interested in the debate about fair trials – is a jury really capable of erasing from their minds what they’ve read about a case in the newspapers, or watched on the TV?

A couple of years ago, the then director of public prosecutions publically said he was convinced they could.  They were, he argued, able and should be trusted to only make up their minds about someone’s guilt based on the evidence that was put before them and the court.

This was a crucial pronouncement because it sort of meant the media could almost publish ‘what it liked’ in the run-up to a trial and not influence the jury’s thinking – well according to the DPP anyway.


I’ve never been convinced about his argument and I remain dubious now.

It brings me to a modern twist on this tale, but this time it’s social media.

I acknowledge there are ‘grey areas’ with social media – nothing is truly black and white, but here’s a question.  Can social media ‘consumers’ tell the difference between the person and the profession?

Not everyone agrees.  Even in our office there were a range of views.

It’s an important point though, because for people, who let’s say use Twitter, for both personal and professional purposes, there’s a danger.

Take me for example.  I’m on Twitter.  I don’t have loads of followers, but there are a number of significant people who choose to read what I have to say.

Paul Napier is one of them.  He’s the editor of the Yorkshire Evening Post.  Is he following me as Andy Carter, head of communications or just Andy Carter?

What about the two councillors who are ‘signed up’ to my tweets?  Are they following me because of my professional or my personal reflections on life?

I don’t know to be honest, I’ve not asked them – but I think it does mean care is needed.

If you’re using social media – think carefully.  An innocent tweet or Facebook status update has the potential to be misunderstood, especially if what you say is in that grey area and it isn’t clear whether you’re being personal or professional at that point.

Having said all that – social media is a fantastic tool and should be used where appropriate.

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Andy's Log: July 14th

This is an edited/shortened version of my weekly blog which I write for work and is published on my council's intranet.  The views I express in this log are my own, professional, views as the head of communications but do not necessarily reflect those of the authority itself.

When I was the news editor of a radio station in the countryside, I checked the shoe sizes of all of my journalists and bought us all a communal pair of wellingtons.

For my trainee reporter they were far too big and she looked a bit comical in them, but for the rest of us they were fine.  The reason I bought them?  Our newsroom was in the countryside and farming was an important and big issue for us.  The trouble with farming is that it meant mud and none of my journalists wanted their Hush Puppies ruined by a mucky cowshed.

Although I no longer work in the countryside, I could have done with a pair of wellies this last week.

That's because it has been like wading through mud, treacle, or wet concrete.

We (I say 'we' because I suspect most of my team has been involved at one point or another) ... have been dealing with a particular issue.

But because of the secrecy that surrounds this particular issue it was nearly impossible to get the answers we needed to defend the council.  For me it felt like we were 'fighting' with one hand tied behind our backs while we were also blindfolded.  The fact that we weren't able to get straight answers from our own colleagues was a massive frustration and meant we lost control of the story.

Fortunately, as a result of our experience this week, the head of service and the chief officer concerned are going to review the arrangements so we're in a much better position to deal with this kind of issue when it comes up in the future.

Yes, we have to protect members of staff who might otherwise be exposed to threats and serious danger, but they need to trust their colleagues and be honest with them.  After all, we're in this together.

Moving on.

The new minister for local government, Eric Pickles had a few interesting things to say last week when he addressed the local government association conference in Bournemouth.

His speech is here (http://www.communities.gov.uk/speeches/newsroom/lgaconference2010) if you want to have a read.  It's worth a look.
I suspect you won't agree with everything that Mr Pickles said, but I do think some of his ideas make sense.  Shared services for instance.

One issue I would argue with him is his attack on 'non jobs'.  Non jobs aren't exclusive to the public sector.

I did a quick search of a few recruitment sites and it wasn't long before I found an advert for an 'alcohol policy manager' with a salary of over £70,000!

(No, I've not downloaded the application form ...)

Something else that's worth a read, or at least a visit to, is the website set up by the government so we can all suggest ideas about saving money or creating extra revenue.  The site is here: http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/

Lots of the suggestions are good.  For instance, switching off every other street light between midnight and 5am all the way to major changes to benefits which could have the potential to save billions.

Two caught my eye though.

One.  'Sell Australia to the Australians'.  The person who logged this idea says the 'Australian prime minister could write a fat cheque and square things at their end'.  In the section where you include the benefits of your idea it says 'the Australians would be less dependent on us - which is what they want isn't it?'

The other suggests the idea of restricting tea and biscuits at council meetings, but says 'if you really have to serve biscuits to councillors, make sure they are horrible ones like Custard Creams or Garibaldis'.

I rather like Custard Creams AND Garibaldis!

Finally this week, in this bumper instalment - it's over to my readers.  Many of my colleagues sent me comments as a result of last week's log.  I’m delighted with their support and encouragement over my decision to have a word with Mr Messy.

On the issue of litter, my colleague Fiona emailed:

"Well done for challenging on the rubbish being left on the train! More people should do that.  On why people drop litter - I don't think it helps that people are encouraged to drop litter in railway stations and airports now. There are no bins any more, due to concerns about terrorists leaving explosive devices in them. I've asked in Leeds City Station in the past where I should put my litter and I've been told just to drop it on the platform, because they employ people to pick it up. I actually couldn't bring myself just to drop litter on the floor, so I took it home with me, but it's worth bearing in mind that people get conflicting messages on what to do with rubbish in public spaces.  As an aside, I lived in Germany for a few years and they have bins to separate rubbish into four different types on the platforms and in the trains, so it's possible."

Mrs X (she's very shy) also thought challenge was appropriate:

“I have family in New Zealand and have been fortunate to visit them.  You do not drop litter anywhere in New Zealand, not because its against the law but because it is a lack of respect. Respect is a very big thing out there. You do not vandalise parks because they belong to the people and it would be a lack of respect. Respect is very much part of their upbringing in school and at home. Consequently as you travel around the country no one throws rubbish from car windows, vandalises public parks and when I was there I did not see any graffiti. All the towns, villages have their own 'domain' (park) and all have workable toilets, clean and usable, and free. They would not dream of vandalising or dropping litter as these 'belong to the community' through rates and if any damage is done the rates would increase.  Maybe we should identify how much of the Council tax is used to repair/clean up buildings and streets from vandals and litter louts and respect to be encouraged."

And – my colleague Bernard has had his own encounter with a 'Mr Messy':

"Re your encounter on the train - good for you. It reminded me of a similar incident with me.  One lunch-time I was walking down towards Dortmund Square and, as I approached a parked car, the passenger opened the door and put his drinks can on the road at the side of the car. I decided to pick the can up, opened the car door, handed him the can and politely asked if he minded either finding a litter bin or taking his rubbish home. To say that he looked gobsmacked is somewhat of an understatement."

On 'promoting' the work of councillors, my colleague John - who used his blog to ask questions of politicians in the run up to the election - had this to say:

"I found [it] very useful in casting my vote, and I wonder whether we need something similar to explain the various roles of councillors better to the people of the city.  Just what can a councillor do for you? What's realistic to expect, and what can't they do?  Taking the storytelling approach, maybe we could illustrate the various bits of their work - on behalf of groups and individuals or even in pursuit of the things they believe in - with a few real examples? Maybe even tell the same story from the different points of view of various 'witnesses': a constituent, a councillor and some of the other people involved.  This approach could really show off the value of councillors, could increase the understanding of their role and how they work with council officers and other agencies in the city, and encourage the people of Leeds to choose them wisely and make the best use of them."

And on both subjects of litter and councillors, Rory who works in one of my council’s area management team comments:

"Just read your captain's log and your story of Mr Messy.  There is a direct link to the new approaches we are implementing to neighbourhood management, community engagement and building sustainable communities.  I have attached a copy of the community engagement strategy recently agreed for the inner East Area Committee and the original concept paper on 'Team Neighbourhood' that I hope you find of interest and relevance to the issues you are highlighting in your log.  Building sustainable communities has to involve local residents as integral to the process and only if we do so will we stand any chance of changing behaviours.  Peer pressure can be very powerful in this regard and I'm sure Mr Messy will be thinking twice before leaving his detritus on the train again, even if he did react defensively/aggressively to your challenge.  The Team Neighbourhood work and the role of new community leadership groups (resident groups chaired by the local councillor - see the community engagement strategy attached) approved by the area committees in inner east and inner north east also give a great indication of the work of local councillors at a neighbourhood level and at an area committee level."

Finally, I've agreed to give a plug to a petition which has been launched to 'save' the new generation transport (trolley bus) scheme in Leeds.

The petition has been started by the campaign group '38 degrees'.


Here's the link if you felt you were able to add your support: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/trolleybus

Thanks to Anne (she won't let me say which council team she works in) for tipping me off about it.

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Andy's Log: July 7th

This is an edited/shortened version of my weekly blog which I write for work and is published on my council's intranet.  The views I express in this log are my own, professional, views as the head of communications but do not necessarily reflect those of the authority itself.

 
I travel to and from work on the train and yesterday I challenged a fellow passenger who was in the seat next to me.  It was because he left a load of rubbish on his flip down table.  I pointed out that there was a bin about 18 inches away.
 
He didn’t like it – but that’s perhaps no surprise.
 
I actually thought he was going to hit me.  Fortunately, that didn’t happen, possibly because of the presence of the young guy who dishes out the coffee.
 
Andrew Mason, who’s the chief officer for environmental services in my council, once told me that he couldn’t understand why people drop litter in the street when there’s a perfectly good bin nearby.  find that difficult to answer as well.
 
Interesting then that the most recent survey by the Local Government Association (LGA), which made the news in the last few days, found that most people want (among other things) bin collections and street cleaning ‘protected’ from cuts.
 
Bin collections I get – after all, someone has got to come and take away the rubbish, but street cleaning got me thinking.
 
Is it because people still want the ‘right’ to drop litter, chuck cigarette butts away or spill the contents of their stomach over the pavement on a Friday night and have someone else clear up the mess?
 
What annoyed me the most about Mr Messy is that he didn’t appear to be prepared to take any responsibility for his own actions.  He was the one who got on the train with a Cornish pasty, crisps and biscuits – they didn’t appear out of thin air and dump themselves on the table.
 
Perhaps, if people took more collective responsibility for their actions then we might not need to have colleagues out in the middle of the night clearing Park Row of empty beer bottles and two-for-one drinks flyers for instance.  Then there’s the issue of challenge.
 
OK, perhaps I was wrong to ‘tell off’ a fellow passenger (it was before 7.30am), but sometimes challenge is important.
 
Right now of course, our council, like many others, is being challenged about spending and being challenged to try and find more savings.  That’s the right thing to do because it could be argued (and I agree) that we have a collective responsibility to help get the country out of the place it finds itself in right now.
That brings me on to the project that I’m working on right now.
 
I – and several colleagues – have been tasked with developing a new model for communications in future.  At the very least it will mean better co-ordination of all our comms, PR, marketing and web functions/activities.
 
There are lots of people to tell about what we’re doing and we’ve deliberately chosen to set up face-to-face meetings and briefings.
 
It’s no surprise to us (and I’m sure you) that we’re being challenged about the project – the rationale behind it, the reasons why it’s necessary and about our brief to introduce a new corporate approach to communications.
 
We’ve had some pretty robust arguments in defence of the status quo – but as is often said ‘doing nothing is not an option.’
 
Eric Pickles, the minister for local government told the LGA conference yesterday (Tuesday) that he wants councils to share more services/functions and that communications should be one of them.
 
I think it’s a perfectly good idea and there’s no reason why we couldn’t merge with another authority’s communications team.  However, we would need to get our own house ‘in order’ before we could consider any merger ideas.
 
In ‘other news’ … I went to a meeting of political cabinet on Monday night to talk about what my team is doing and to update the leader and colleagues on the project I’ve just mentioned.
 
I’m pleased to report that they were very supportive of what we’re doing, but they were also quite challenging on a number of issues.
 
One is accountability.  The leader was keen that we do something which highlights the work of councillors and the democratic ‘framework’ they operate in.  The idea would be for the people of our city to better understand what councillors do and for people to better understand how they can be involved in how decisions are made.
 
Finally, we’ve had another ‘plug’ for our plain English work.
 
It was mentioned in the esteemed publication that is PR Week.  One of my colleagues was so excited that her photograph was used, she posted the link to the article on to her Facebook page.
 
So you don’t have to wade through my colleague’s birthday party pictures and snaps from her holiday to Malaga (I thought she was too old for that anyway) – to find the aforementioned link, it’s here for your convenience: http://www.prweek.com/uk/researchData/login/1013260/
 
More next week

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Andy's log: July 1st

This is an edited and shortened version of my weekly blog which I write for work and is published on my council's intranet.  The views I express in this log are my own, professional, views as the head of communications but do not necessarily reflect those of the authority itself.

There's so much to talk about this week - council newspapers, public sector websites being cut and reviews of communications functions!

Let's start though with a quick reflection of last week's emergency budget which I mentioned in a previous blog post.

You'll probably recall my wish list - which clearly was based in cloud-cuckoo land.  But, to be honest even a doom and gloom list from the Chancellor would have been good.  We know that pretty challenging, no, let's be honest and say 'horrific' cuts are on the way, but after last week we're still in the dark really.

I felt he didn't really tell us much!

The spending review in the autumn will hopefully give us the details we need to make concrete decisions.  In the meantime there's plenty we can do.

In the next few days the chief executive of my council is going to write to all members of staff to explain how the council is reacting to the budget cuts and what might be on the horizon.

His letter will also ask for their help.  Many of our people are involved in delivering front-line services.  They're at the 'coal face' and can most likely see where there's potential for savings to be made.

This is a good and welcome way of doing things and means we sort of become masters of our own destiny.  We need to face up to the fact that the future is far from bright (it's certainly not orange).  

But, if my colleagues and I can collectively come up with some great ideas about how we can minimise the effect of the situation we find ourselves in, then that's got to be a positive.

My team is going to start the ball rolling on this.

We've been asked to lead a review of the council's entire communications functions with a view to making efficiencies across the council.

We're one of several areas of the council that are being looked at.  The council’s corporate leadership team has agreed to progress urgent reviews of these and other similar functions in order to rationalise what we do.

For me personally, I think it makes sense given where we find ourselves.

Next this week ... council newspapers.

Eric Pickles, the secretary of state for local government wrote an article in Saturday's Guardian newspaper in which he talked about toughening the rules on local council publications.

He said he wants crack down on those councils that publish something weekly which can't really be distinguished from the local independent media.

Well, here's a revelation - I agree with you Mr Pickles.

By 'those councils' he means, well, just six actually.  Most are in London and the southeast.  The fact that they are printing and publishing weekly 'freesheets' which include film reviews, TV listings and sports coverage (among other items) is the main reason why they are being targeted for criticism.

The vast majority of local authorities (ours included) publish perhaps four or six times a year and manage to restrict themselves to council information only.

Yes, there is always going to be a debate about whether 15p per edition (in our case) is a good use of taxpayers’ money, but at least we could hardly be accused of damaging the local media.

We’re certainly not trying to chase its limited advertising incomes!

In fact, senior people from the Johnston Press have told me they are entirely relaxed about our paper because they don't feel that their revenues are threatened.

Mr Pickles says in his article: "Local newspapers are absolutely vital to a thriving democracy. They are key to open and transparent government where people can hold their council to account."

I agree entirely and I'm very keen we support our local media.   There's no chance my council would ever try and be the 'new YEP'.

Public sector websites now.

The Government announced last week that it is to close numerous public sector websites which it believes are too expensive and don't provide value for money.
One of those in the firing line promotes chips.

Ministers say they are too many sites which appear to be there for 'vanity reasons only' and they have to go.

I'm embarrassed to report that Leeds City Council has dozens of subsites, some of which have sprung up from seemingly nowhere.

However, on this one, we are ahead of Government thinking.  Our leaders – political and officer – have already taken a view that the time has come for us to take stock and close down what we don't need anymore.  

Clearly, there needs to be some evaluation of these sites, but we know we can't continue to justify the cost of having dozens of websites all over the place.

It'll be easier when we launch our new leeds.gov.uk site next year, because we can start afresh and better plan what content and information we need on it.

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Government 'tightens rules' on council newspapers

I'm a member of the LGcommunications (Local Government) communications group and read with interest the story (there's one example of it here on the BBC website) about the Government's plans to tighten the rules on local councils publishing newspapers.

Frankly this is good news.

It will stop the tiny handful of councils who have managed to get the rest of us tarnished with the same brush, by taking on their local media and publishing something that can't be properly distinguished from another daily or weekly paper.

Given where the country's finances are now, this is a scandalous use of tax payers money by these councils.

Here's how LGcommunications reacted to the story:

David Holdstock, the Chairman of LGcommunications which represents local authority communications said today:

“We welcome the government’s moves to clarify the rules but warn that it won’t solve the problems of local newspapers. We want newspaper groups to flourish but they’ll need to substantially improve their coverage of local life in many areas to win lost readers

“These rules are aimed at minority of largely London based council newspapers, perhaps six in total, out of nearly 350 local authorities producing regular publications. The vast majority of council publications coexist peacefully with commercial newspapers and do a great job in telling their local communities how they can make the best use of local public services

“We’re pleased that the government appear to have rejected the Newspaper Society’s attempts to stop the majority of council publications operating and taking small amounts of advertising, and has recognised that “more information” will be “syndicated online” rather than being forced into be carried in local newspapers

“In a recent report the Audit Commission endorsed the role of local authority newspapers and magazines and in producing them councils are following best practice as recommended by the CLG and Local Government Association. 

“As part of this review we will be seeking a commitment from the newspaper industry that they will improve the quality of local reporting which has fallen substantially in terms of quality and quantity over the past decade. We want to see reporters returning to report on council meetings, newspapers based in their locality and not in regional hubs.

 “We will also be calling as part of this new settlement for government to allow local authorities to advertise statutory notices in the most cost effective media for the local taxpayer. Too often local newspapers simply don’t have the reach into the community and it would be more efficient and effective to put public notices online.

“There are many good partnerships between local newspapers and their council. LGcommunications will continue to work with newspaper groups to help journalists scrutinise and illuminate the work of local authorities.

Note to Editors

LGcommunications has published a report on the impact of local authority newspapers which can be found here http://www.lgcomms.org.uk/documents/PrvngCommsWrks-ImptOfcnclPubs.pdf

 less than 5% of all publications are published fortnightly or weekly – around seven publications

The Audit Commission report on council communications spending can be found here: http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/Pages/councilper...

LGcommunications represents local authority communications teams and has a working group on this issue with representatives of the major newspaper groups.

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Mallard travels on the mainline again

The locomotive which still holds the world speed record for a steam train was back on the mainline today.

But on this occasion Mallard was being towed and wasn't in steam.

She was moved this afternoon from the National Railway Museum at York to the the NRM's base at Shildon in County Durham.

I managed to get a quick shot of both Tornado, Mallard and the class 47 loco Prince William passing just north of a place called Longlands junction.

(download)

I'm not really a train buff, but it still impresses me that a steam train ever managed to get to 126 miles an hour.

Hats off to the amazing locomotive engineer Sir Nigel Gresley who designed her.

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Captain's Log: June 22nd

This is a copy of my weekly blog which I write for work and is published on the council's intranet.  The views I express in this log are my own, professional, views as the Head of Communications but do not necessarily reflect those of the authority itself.

Isn't it amazing what you find on work printers?

I have a particular moan that (where there isn't the 'managed print service') too much stuff is printed unnecessarily in the council.

Some people have foot notes on their email signature saying 'think green, do you really need to print this message?' yet we do anyway.

I recently started using a laptop at work which isn't properly set up to print yet. I think I'll leave it that way because it's far too tempting just to hit the Ctrl and P keys.

Having said all that thank you to the colleague who neatly typed out and then printed too many copies of a document called 'wish list' on our floor.

That's because his (I think it's a man) document has given me the starting point for this week's log.  His list includes shirts with a 15" collar, boxer shorts, trainers, an iPod sock, underarm spray and 'bicycle accessories'.

Today of course is the government's emergency budget and Chancellor George Osborne may have already risen to his feet in the House of Commons by the time you're reading this. He might have even finished.

Over the last few days the media has been busy speaking to experts, commentators and business people asking them what they'd like to see from the budget. 'Give us your wish list' they've been saying.

That's easy from my point of view I'd like Mr Osborne to tell us that:

1. They've found piles of cash in a cupboard in Number 11 and 'everything is going to be alright'.
2. No cuts are necessary.
3. All local council services are 'safe' and there's no need to panic.
4. In fact, feel free to go and 'splash some cash' on stuff.

Of course, that's not even likely.

So, we're bracing ourselves for some pretty gloomy news and my team and I have been preparing for how we should react.

We've drafted a council response, but we're going to have to flesh it out as the Chancellor speaks because the actual detail of what he'll say isn't available.

At least everyone will get the news at the same time unlike last week when we were given no notice about the government's announcement regarding the scrapping and suspension of a number of capital projects.

For us it meant the Holt Park well being centre was put on hold.

May I say a big thanks to Councillor Lucinda Yeadon who has set the bar for responding to media requests for interviews.  I rang her at 2.16pm on Friday afternoon and said 'would you do me a massive favour and go on the TV for me?'  She said 'yes' straight away and only then asked what it was about.  And she didn't flinch when I said the journalist and her cameraman were already on their way and would arrive at 2.45!

That's what you call a speedy response. Well done Councillor.

We also recorded a quick audio clip of Councillor Yeadon responding to the Holt Park news, which was on the virtual newsroom within an hour of the story breaking.  This was fine for all the broadcasters who used it on their bulletins but not so great for one newspaper which said it 'didn't have the technology to play the audio' so could we 'type it out for them instead please?'  So much for newspapers embracing the digital world.

In other news I'd like to extend an 'official' welcome to Tom Riordan who began his induction programme today with a meeting with colleagues from the Planning, Policy and Improvement teams.  We posted a note on the intranet last week when Tom's proper start date was confirmed. It's August 16th.

By the time you're reading this, it's likely we will also have announced details of the newest edition to the council's senior team.  Nigel Richardson has been appointed as our new Director of children's services. Nigel currently works at Hull City Council. See the intranet news pages for more.

Finally - thank you to John Devine from environment and neighbourhoods whose sharp wit is worthy of another mention in this log.  Last week, you'll remember that I started my entry with the opening line from Gloria Gaynor's song 'I will survive'.  I suggested that my team had said 'you're back' when I returned from my leave.

John emailed to ask whether my team also said:

[We] should have changed [the] stupid lock
[We] should have made you leave your key
If [we] had known for just one second you'd be back to bother me [us].

Very amusing Mr D!

For the record they didn't.

See you on the other side of the emergency budget.  Keep calm and carry on.

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Invitation to 'gobbledygook' councillor

Local government is a small family and it would be wrong of me to poke fun at or criticise another council.  But, I couldn't help have a giggle at the story below which a former colleague of mine from the BBC spotted running on the wires tonight.

It's all the more interesting for me because my council is trying to get rid of gobbledygook and our efforts to do so have been highlighted on the BBC's One Show programme.

Here's the story:

A Nottinghamshire council chief has been accused of talking "gobbledygook" after imposing new rules on language banning references to everyday words and phrases, it has been revealed.

Nottinghamshire County Council leader Councillor Kay Cutts banned the phrase "Greater Nottingham" and insisted the phrase "Core City Area" should be used instead.

Her decision emerged through minutes of a private meeting of a new board that covers the area, which includes Nottingham city and several outlying districts looked after by the county.

Previously an informal partnership was in place between the county and city councils but a formal Core City Board was created, holding its first meeting on June 7.

Minutes from that meeting show the leader "banned" use of the term Greater Nottingham. The phrase "core city area" will now be used, council bosses said on Wednesday. Under the heading "language", the minutes from the meeting say: "the leader has banned using the terms 'Greater Nottingham' and 'conurbation'."

But Labour councillor and opposition leader Alan Rhodes branded the move "bureaucratic nonsense" and said the phrase was "gobbledygook".

He said: "This suggests a rather dictatorial stance from the leader of the council. It's just gobbledygook, it doesn't mean anything to anybody. It doesn't give you any sense of place or identity to call it a Core City Area. It's bureaucratic nonsense, it's just local government speak. People will still call it Greater Nottingham, they know what that means.

"It's the kind of jargon that excludes ordinary people from discussions.  It makes it exclusive to people who understand what the core city area is and does. It doesn't open itself up to wider discussion. It smacks of inward looking local government."

But Cllr Cutts said: "Relationships between the city and county have never been stronger. On June 7, the first meeting of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Joint Leadership Board met for the first time. The city and surrounding areas are now represented by the Core City Board. In order to ensure we remain consistent, the authority will now use the term core city area."

Well Councillor Cutts - for a small fee I'd be delighted to come along and give you some plain English advice.  Call me!

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Booing about June 21

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