Council Babble

I see that at a teachers conference this Easter, a delegate is attacking “edu-babble”, which is incomprehensible jargon is often used as a status symbol within the profession. As I approach my last month as a councillor, I’ve been looking for example of similar “council-babble” from the many documents that pass across my desk. How about…”PA (Comprehensive Performance Assessment); NNDR (National Non Domestic Rates); BVPI (Best Value Performance Indicator); “Use of Resources Assessment”; VFM (Value for Money); MTFS (Medium Term Financial Strategy; “Member Champions” – all taken from the Audit Commissions ST&CC (don’t know!) Annual Audit & Inspection Letter in respect of Rugby Borough Council, March 2007. Councillors talk about “engaging” with the public, but how are the public meant to understand what is actually happening when so many reports are written in jargon?