Past newsletters 2002

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Plain English update 18 October 2002

We have an update on Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's proposals for a plain English constitution for the European Union. The good news is that academics at Cambridge University have produced a model constitution at his request. The bad news is that it is 75 pages long.

We'll comment on its clarity once we've made our way through...

The United States and countries in Europe are arguing about rules on labelling genetically modified (GM) food.

The row involves how much 'accidental' GM content is allowed in a product before it must be labelled as genetically modified. For example, this could happen when GM food is processed with the same machinery as non-GM food.

The United States wants the allowable level to be five percent, while the European Parliament is calling for a level of just half a percent. Until a compromise is reached, international approval for new GM crops cannot go ahead.

A European Commission directive (rules that countries must include in their own laws) this week removes various loopholes in the general principle that any food containing any GM content must be clearly labelled.

A former barrister has condemned the removal of Latin terms from the legal system.

In the introduction to his book 'Lawyers' Latin', John Gray suggests that 'To attempt suppression of Latin in a civilised country is, in the scale of cultural atrocities, on a par with burning books.'

But Peter Neyroud, Chief Constable of Thames Valley police, countered the argument when interviewed by the Guardian. 'The use of Latin seems to be the best possible system for excluding the involvement or understanding of the general public.'

The Plain English Campaign offices fell silent this week after hearing a shocking story: an estate agent described a property without a hint of waffle.

Glastonbury-based Jason Bending hit the headlines when he described a house as 'Wonderfully grubby with a sweet tiny dining room and a filthy back yard'. His honest description found a buyer the next day.

It certainly makes a difference from this description a supporter sent to us many years ago.

'A perceived Sui Generis residence of chalet design with a characteristic Tyrolean verandah facade is secreted within a chic garden glade affording privacy without isolation. The liberated desideratum interior provides an emancipated environment in which the indigene may explore and experiment with furnishings creating a perpetual flux of mood.'

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Plain English update 11 October 2002

A study shows leaflets about doctors' surgeries suffer from poor design and inappropriate jargon.

The Consumers' Association asked Plain English Campaign to help test 40 such leaflets. We tested them by:

• asking a sample of the public to find information in 20 of the leaflets;
• assessing the design and layout on another 10 leaflets; and
• asking our editors to suggest improvements for the remaining 10.

Our test on the public found that, on average, 30% of people struggled to find information on a leaflet, with medical jargon the main problem. We also found that with around half of the leaflets, the opening times and surgery hours were difficult to comprehend because of poor layout and excessive abbreviations.

Our findings appear as part of a full report in the latest edition of the Consumers' Association's 'Health Which?' magazine.

We have previously reported on Foreign Secretary Jack Straw's call for a written constitution for the European Union. Mr Straw went into more detail in an article published today in 'The Economist' magazine. He was crystal clear in his assessment of existing documents.

'While the practical achievements of the EU have been profound, the Union's treaties fail almost every test of clarity and brevity: 165 pages long, plus another 90 pages in the yet to be ratified Treaty of Nice... no point reading the EU treaties in the hope of illumination.

'Any new text should answer the basic questions about the Union which have characterised the debate in the UK for the past three decades. It should set out the EU's mission in simple language...

'It is time to set out what the Union is, what it does and how it does it; to define the role and powers of the Union's institutions, and their relationships with the member states; and to improve the Union's ability to deliver practical benefits to Europe's citizens.'

Talking of the European Union (EU), we were pleased this week to see the announcement that 3600 mortgage firms across Europe have signed up to a voluntary EU code designed to make it easier to compare offers from different lenders. This is particularly relevant now that borrowers can compare mortgages priced in Euros from firms in different countries.

The firms signing up to the code will give potential clients a standard sheet covering:

• the product itself;
• the standard rate of interest;
• the annual rate;
• the amount of the loan;
• the duration of the loan;
• early repayment possibilities; and
• what to do if things go wrong.

The code has support among firms in every EU country except Spain and (except for a few firms) France. British industry groups have agreed to the code, but have delayed it for a year while the Financial Services Authority finalises its own legal requirements for mortgage lenders.

With more than 3500 readers so far, it is clear our free wills guide is proving useful. For anyone still unsure about the subject, there is a great article on the Working Lunch website.

The article accompanies a piece that aired on the BBC 2 programme today, hosted by Plain English Champion Adam Shaw.

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Plain English update 4 October 2002

The United States Food and Drug Administration has announced a system of standard labels for over-the-counter medicines. The labels are similar in design to those already used for nutritional information on packaged foods. The labels will include information on:

• the active ingredients in the medicine;
• the purpose of the medicine;
• safety warnings (such as side-effects or when not to use the medicine);
• instructions on dosage and when to take the medicine, listed in age categories;
• other information such as storage instructions; and
• inactive ingredients such as colourings or flavourings.

The design of the labels will follow regulations to make sure all labels are consistent. This will make it easier for consumers to find specific information whatever medicine they buy.

A new book by New Zealand columnist Joe Bennett includes a piece titled 'In the bad lands' made up almost entirely of jargon, buzzwords and clichés. To give you a flavour, one section reads as follows.

'We knew what we were looking for. We sought a window of opportunity, just a small one that would grant a view of the knowledge economy from the top of the learning curve. But windows of opportunity are few and far between and the going was tough. Obstacles abounded. We waded through income streams and held each other back from cunningly concealed poverty traps. After twenty-four hours we were on the point of calling it a day...'

Anyone who has followed the recent woes of the Enron corporation will realise the situation is filled with complexity. This certainly helps explain the following clause in a notice to potential claimants against the firm.

'You should not file a Proof of Claim if... your Claim is limited exclusively to the repayment by the applicable Debtor of principal and interest (a "Debt Claim") under notes or other debt instruments issued by such Debtor pursuant to an indenture (collectively, the "Notes") or the indenture in respect of any such Notes (the "Indentures"); provided, however, that (i) the foregoing exclusion in this subparagraph shall not apply to the indenture trustee under each of the Indentures (the "Indenture Trustees"), (ii) each of the Indenture Trustees shall be required to file a Proof of Claim on account of the applicable Notes and Indentures for which it is trustee, on or before the Bar Date, and (iii) each Indenture Trustee and any holder of Notes that wishes to assert a Claim arising out of or relating to the Notes or the Indentures, other than a Debt Claim, shall be required to file a Proof of Claim on or before the Bar Date, unless another exception identified in this paragraph applies.'

In contrast, the following passage explains: 'You should not file a proof of claim if you do not have a claim against any of the debtors.'

Thanks to supporter Michael Conroy Harris who noticed a sign in a do-it-yourself store. 'Obviously keen to offload end-of-line bathroom equipment a sign had been put up to draw one's attention to 'deranged bathroom accessories'.'

Meanwhile, a letter in The Times this week shared some baffling instructions on a sweater label: 'Please wear dark coloured undergarments for the first few washes.'

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