Scottish Parliament Official Report General Style – Edition 25 07/03/05 general 1 adviser [NOT advisor] A B C D E F G H I J K L M advisory committee - check the full name in “Councils, Committees and Boards”. Social N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Security Advisory Committee; the committee. The minister has set up a land A reform advisory committee . going from A to B advocate deputes A and E use accident and emergency instead aftercare Aarhus convention ageism BUT aging, agist accents—see “foreign words” ages: six-year-olds; nine-year-olds; 10-year- olds; seven to 10-year-olds; from the ages acquiesce in of five to 18; aged eight, nine, 14 and 16; acronyms—should, as a rule, be set out in full those aged 16 to 18; 16 to 19-year-olds; the first time. An acronym may be put in over-50s, under-fives; in their 30s and 40s em-dashes after the term has been put out agrimoney, agrimonetary (BUT agri- in full if it would help the reader to do so. environment) There are three groups of exceptions: aide/s-de-camp 1. those that have become words: aims and objectives: TRY one or the other, laser, radar, quango not both 2. those that are in a foreign language airport [lc] Sumburgh airport; Manchester and would probably not be recognised: international airport; Heathrow terminal 4 UNITA, SNCF, FIFA (However, UEFA should be out in full first time if the al-Qa’ida organisation is referred to, but we would all comers always say “the UEFA cup”) all of—TRY omitting “of”: all the civil servants 3. those that might not be as involved, not “all of” the civil servants recognisable any other way: all right ADSL LED allowance—welfare benefits [lc] AIDS LSD amen—we say amen to that AM/FM ME amendments—are lodged in Edinburgh and ANZAC MOT tabled in Westminster. They are not BBC MRSA “brought forward” (but they are moved and disposed of and agreed to) BSE NASA amok, run amok BCG NATO ampersand—in a company’s name, follow CD-ROM OBE (and other honours) Companies House (Marks and Spencer; CJD PVC B&Q) DNA QED ancillary [NOT ancilliary] DVD RAM and/or—is acceptable, if that’s really what they DOS ROM mean FTSE TARDIS annexe [n] part of a building; annex [n] part of a HIV TNT document; annex [vb] IBM VAT anti-Christ ISBN VHS anti-Semitic ISDN VIP antisocial ISSN YMCA anticipate—is often used when “expect” would ITV YWCA be more appropriate KGB any [sing] Does any of us have the right to complain? apex [NOT APEX or Apex] act—Government of Wales Act 1998; the/an act. If referred to a lot in a short space of apostrophe on “s”—only plurals end with “s’“ time, call it “the 1988 act” and so on— for the possessive [ministers’ cars]. Where nicknames lead to confusion. [see “bills”] the “s” is part of the word, the possessive must be “s’s”. This is usually a problem Admiralty only with names: Prince of Wales’s Administration—follows the same rules as consent, St James’s park, Sir Roy Government Griffiths’s report, the princess’s car. United advance notice—TRY notice States is a plural, so: United States’ view. adverbs—in a decisive way = decisively general 2 Also, Scottish Homes’ responsibilities. Aunt Sally, Sallies EXCEPTIONS: for goodness’ sake autumn statement [lc] unless the reference is to apostrophe—do not use in names of the document, which takes inverted organisations: National Farmers Union, commas like other publications; budget Ramblers Association, residents statement associations, magistrates courts. away day Exception: when the word would not exist without an apostrophe (children’s, B fishermen’s) [see also “contractions”]; B and B (but bed and breakfast first) Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association back bench [n] – from the back benches; back bencher; back-bench member [adj] applause—[Applause.] is an acceptable “stage back-up [n]; back up [vb] direction”, like [Interruption.] and backdate/d/ing [Laughter.] backlog arm’s length; arm’s-length principle backtracking, backtracked Army, the backwoods, backwoodsman artefact back yard as being: TRY as badger sett ascriptions—quotations of five words or more from any UK Official Report take an bail out a boat; bale out of an aeroplane; bail ascription in square brackets after an em an accused person dash immediately after the text of the balkanise, balkanisation, BUT the Balkans quotation. Quotation and ascription take ballyhoo quotation style. bandwagon In Edinburgh: —[Official Report, 13 April 2020; Vol bank: organisation uc, branch lc. “Clydesdale 2, c 9.] or —[Official Report, Finance Committee, 13 Bank has announced a restructuring.” “I April 2020; c 9-11.] For joint meetings: —[Official went to see my personal adviser at Report, Justice 1 Committee and Justice 2 Committee Clydesdale bank.” “The bank has (Joint Meeting), 16 May 2001; c 96.] Note that with announced a restructuring.” World Bank, ascriptions up to and including volume 11, the the bank; Bank of England, the bank; the volume number is to be included; after 24 April monetary policy committee 2001, there will be no more volumes and no need for volume numbers. bank holiday For written answers, —[Official Report, bargepole Written Answers, 12 January 2004; S2W-5413.] Barnardo’s Note that the volume number point above Barnett formula applies to written answers, too. baseline In Westminster: —[Official Report, House of basis TRY to avoid: on a daily/day-to-day basis Commons/Lords, 1 April 2000; Vol 90, c 23-24.] or = daily, day to day; on a much wider basis —[Official Report, House of Commons/Lords, Standing Committee A, 1 April 2000; c 223-24.] = much more widely; on a national basis = nationally; on a part-time basis = part-time; For debates in Westminster Hall: — [Official Report, House of Commons, 30 November on a permanent basis = permanently; on a 2000; Vol 4, c 56WH.] piecemeal basis = piecemeal; on a regular For written answers: —[Official Report, basis = regularly; testing on a universal House of Commons, 20 January 2004; Vol 9, c basis = universal testing 20W.] Basque Country (autonomous region); Basque For written ministerial statements: country (the wider Basque-speaking area) —[Official Report, House of Commons, 12 battalion January 2020; Vol 1, c 25WS.] Do not look for Hansards of select battlefield committees—evidence is done by baulk Gurney’s. be helpful to: TRY help assembly: Northern Ireland/National be of benefit to: TRY benefit Assembly for Wales uc even if the full be of [give] assistance to: TRY assist, help name is not given; the Assembly. Proposed be-all and end-all or imagined assemblies lc; an assembly for bedblocking the south-west of England. Others; check the full name. Assembly of the Council of bedrock Europe; the assembly; North Atlantic begs the question— Chambers’ definition: “to Assembly; the assembly avoid giving an answer” Auditor General bench—[see “member”] general 3 benchmark paragraph (a); subparagraph benefited, benefiting (ii). If the debate is about benefits [lc] child benefit; housing benefit; subparagraph (ii), you need disability living allowance; all-work test refer only to “subparagraph (ii)” or, even, “the subparagraph”. better-off: better-off people, the better-off, those To identify subparagraph (ii) who are better off from scratch, however, you biannual—twice a year; biennial—every two need the entire root, which years would appear thus: section biased 5(1)(a)(ii). A schedule may be the Bible Genesis, chapter 2, verses 8 to 10; divided into paragraphs, which Psalm 96 may be divided into bill-uc only if it is the full title of a published bill: subparagraphs. Scotland Bill; the bill; a bill of rights. Except in Unfortunately, the paragraph the most unusual circumstances, always give numbers are not wrapped in the correct and full name of a published bill. brackets, so we have to say Nicknames lead only to confusion. “paragraph 1 of schedule 5”, or There are two types of bill: public and private. “subparagraph 1(2) of schedule 5”. Proceedings on public and private bills are governed by separate rules under standing BE AWARE orders. 1. That Westminster bills Public bills (chapter 9) have “clauses” rather than “sections”-the subdivisions Broadly speaking, there are two types of public remain the same-and that bill: Executive and non-Executive. A committee clauses in bills become bill and a member’s bill are examples of public sections in acts. A member’s non-Executive bills. Other manifestations of bill there is called private public bill are listed at rule 9.1.1. member’s bill. Westminster Any bill promoted by a Scottish minister is an also has private bills, and Executive bill. they too are governed by A member’s bill is introduced by a member separate standing orders. who may be supported or “sponsored” by other 2. Commons stages are called: members, whose names are printed on the presentation and first reading, back cover of the bill. second reading, committee A committee bill is introduced by the stage, report, third reading convener, who also instructs the drafting. They biggie are referred to as the member in charge biosecurity Public bills have stages-stage bipartisan 1, stage 2, etc. birth rate Private bills (chapter 9A) birthday honours, birthday honours list Private bills are “promoted” by a private interest to give them black spot “particular powers or benefits black [adj and n]: black people in excess of or in conflict with black-and-white corridor; television; film the general law”. Black Isle Private bills have different blacklist stages-preliminary stage; blitzkrieg consideration stage; final bloodbath stage.