Civil servant fury as Welsh Government BANS words ' in 'style guide'

‘Just missing w for woke!’ Welsh Government BANS words such as ‘Brexit’, ‘able-bodied’ and ‘Her Majesty’ in new A-Z style guide for civil servants as it is slammed as a ‘bonkers misuse of public money’

• List of banned words has been drawn up for civil servants by Welsh Government
• Staff say they are puzzled by exclusions in the latest version of their style guide
• ‘Brexit’ is among the banned words, as is ‘HM Government’ and ‘able-bodied’
• ‘The only one missing is W for woke. It is just getting so nit-picking’ said a worker

A ‘woke’ list of banned words for more than 30,000 civil servants drawn up by the Welsh Government has been slammed as a ‘bonkers misuse of public money’ by an  devolved administration which has ‘well and truly lost the plot’.

The ‘do not use’ list of politically-correct words and phrases which include – ‘Brexit’ and ‘HM Government’ is in an official A-to-Z guide compiled by the Labour-run Welsh Government for staff which has been funded by the taxpayer.

And workers are puzzled by some of exclusions in the ‘Style Guide’ updated on December 20 – with more rules laid down in Cardiff than in the Westminster guide for civil servants over the border in England.

The Welsh Government has been criticised for a ‘woke’ revision of its style guide, which excludes words such as ‘able-bodied’ and ‘Brexit’ (pictured: The Senedd building)

Andrew RT Davies, the Welsh Conservative Senedd leader, said the Welsh government had ‘well and truly lost the plot’ over its guide to civil servants

One civil servant said: ‘Some of these rules are ridiculous – they are just words and phrases used everyday by ordinary people.

‘It is a massive A-Z but the only one missing is W for woke. It is just getting so nit-picking, well if I was allowed to say that.’

Andrew RT Davies, the Welsh Conservative Senedd leader, said the Welsh government had ‘well and truly lost the plot’ according to The Times.

The latest revision of the Welsh Government’s style guide instructs over 30,000 civil servants about the terminology they should be using

Civil servants are advised to use ‘non-disabled’ instead of ‘able-bodied’ when referring to people without disabilities

He said: ‘Only last week we had ministers cancelling ‘women’ from sex education in Wales, and now they’re consigning Brexit and Her Majesty to the political correctness bin.

‘It’s a bonkers misuse of public money and a complete and utter waste of time. Civil servants who are just looking to get on with their day job shouldn’t be subjected to such nonsense.

‘And to be frank, the Labour Welsh government has much more important things it should be tackling, such as the chronic problems in our NHS, and our crumbling road infrastructure, which continues to serve as a national embarrassment. 

Some of the words and phrases which civil servants are banned from using in Wales.

Listed below are the words and descriptions exactly as they appear in the Welsh Government style guide.

ABLE-BODIED

Do not use this. Use non-disabled.

BAME

Do not use this. Use Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic. For any subsequent references on the same page use ‘ethnic minority’ or ‘ethnic minority communities’.

BREXIT

Brexit has happened. Use transition period to refer to the time between 1 February and 31 December 2020. 

HIDDEN DISABILITY

Do not use this. Use invisible impairment.

PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY OR PERSON WITH A DISABILITY 

Do not use. In most contexts use disabled people or disabled person. If your context means that you are referring to people with impairments then use impairments. For example ‘people with impairments are disabled by barriers in society’.

PROFORMA

Do not use proforma – say what it is in plain English: a template or form, for example. Be specific about what to do with it.

SPECIAL NEEDS

Do not use. Use additional learning needs or access requirements, depending on context.

UK GOVERNMENT

[Use this]. Never HM Government. 

VULNERABLE

Do not use to refer to disabled people. Anyone can become vulnerable for different reasons at different times in their lives. Disabled people are often described as vulnerable and this is often wrong and does nothing to promote equality.

WELSH ASSEMBLY 

The 2 organisations are the Welsh Government and Welsh Parliament.

Source: Welsh Government style Guide 

‘Wasting energy on problems that don’t even exist sadly epitomises the current socialist regime we have in Cardiff Bay, who seem intent on imposing a woke ideology right across Welsh public life.’

Among the banned list is Brexit. Staff are told: ‘Brexit has happened. Use transition period to refer to the time between 1 February and 31 December 2020.’

Also banned is Her Majesty’s Government. The guide reads: ‘UK government. Never HM government.’

Another one banned is saying BAME. It tells staff: ‘Do not use this. Use Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic. For any subsequent references on the same page use ‘ethnic minority’ or ‘ethnic minority communities’.

Civil servants are also blocked from saying ‘Able-bodied’ or ‘Vulnerable.’ 

It reads: ‘Do not use this. Use non-disabled.’ 

Elsewhere it adds: ‘Do not use to refer to disabled people. Anyone can become vulnerable for different reasons at different times in their lives. Disabled people are often described as vulnerable and this is often wrong and does nothing to promote equality.’

It includes the alphabetical list in the style guide also for civil servants in England which also blocks words such from advancing, combating, countering, deploy – through to overarching, robust, slimming down and tackling to promote the clear use of English.

The official guide by the Cardiff-based Welsh Government was drawn up for the 32,440 civil servants in Wales.

One civil servant said: ‘If you ask the ordinary person in the street then they still call it the Welsh Assembly. But we are now banned from saying that – it has to be Welsh Government or Welsh Parliament.

‘It is like looking over your shoulder every time you send an email. Big Brother of words and phrases.’

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies said the the Labour Government in Wales ‘has well and truly lost the plot’.

He said: ‘Only last week, we had ministers cancelling ‘women’ from sex education in Wales, and now they’re consigning Brexit and Her Majesty to the political correctness bin!

‘It’s a bonkers misuse of public money and a complete and utter waste of time. Civil servants who are just looking to get on with their day-job shouldn’t be subjected to such nonsense.

‘And to be frank, the Labour Welsh Government has much more important things it should be tackling, such as the chronic problems in our NHS, and our crumbling road infrastructure which continues to serve as a national embarrassment.

‘Wasting energy on problems that don’t even exist sadly epitomises the current socialist regime we have in Cardiff Bay, who seem intent on imposing a woke ideology right across Welsh public life.’ 

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