The Local Government Association (LGA) has published a list of 200 terms “that public bodies should not use if they want to communicate with local people.”

High time, you might say! Without doubt we all rely too much on jargon, and just as certainly a lot of it obscures rather than illuminates. Of the 200 terms highlighted by the LGA, we could easily jettison about half of them without shedding a tear. But let’s pause for a little thought before jumping on this particular bandwagon, and let’s examine in more depth why we have such a proliferation of terminology and why it is tempting to use them on occasions.