The Golden Bull Award is an award that is given annually by the Plain English Campaign to an organisation who has made what is deemed by the campaign to be a confusing and bad use of English (see gobbledygook).^[1]

Past "Winners"

Started in 1980, this award has been famously (or infamously) given to the NHS for a 229 word definition of a bed, and in 1981 winners were sent a parcel of tripe through the mail.^[2]

1991^[3]

• Clerical Medical Investment Group for 'Mortgage Repayments for Professionals'
• Creyf's Recruitment Limited for their terms of business for the supply of temporary workers
• Cumbria County Council for a letter to a former employee
• Girobank for 'Your Cheque Card is Changing'
• West Bromwich Building Society for a letter to a customer

1992^[4]

• The Benefits Agency for a postscript
• Jacques Delors for the English version of the Maastrict treaty (Article 41)
• Leek solicitors Bowcock & Pursaill
• Jewson for terms of sale
• National & Provincial Building Society for an advert for an 'integration planner'
• Personnel Management magazine for an article on organisational culture
• Sky Sports for a subscription form

1993^[5]

• The Contributions Agency for a letter (names changed)
• Health & Safety Commission for 'Management of Health & Safety at Work' Regulation 10
• City of Liverpool's Director of Housing and Consumer Services
• Southwark Council's Legal Services Department for a lease
• THORN Security Limited for a letter warning customers of a possible price rise
• The Value for Money Unit of the NHS Directorate for a document sent out by the Welsh Office (229-word definition of 'a bed')
• Brian Devine, Regional Secretary of UNISON for a document sent to staff representatives

1994^[6]

• Child Support Appeal Tribunal Central Office for a letter
• LONRHO Plc for a special resolution for shareholders
• Manx Airlines for General Consitions fo Carriage for Passengers & Baggage
• Southwark Council for a report
• Stiefel Laboratories for directions for use

1995^[7]

• Association of Business Sponsorship of the Arts for its rules
• Bristol City Council for a report
• Hewitt and Co Solicitors for a letter
• Nationwide Trust Limited for mortgage conditions
• South Bucks District Council for a tree preservation order
• Yorkshire Electricity for a letter to a customer

1996^[8]

• British Telecom for a summary of a review and report on local call areas
• Internal Revenue Service, Washington DC for their document 'Internal Revenue Service Notice'
• Leeds City Council for a public notice with 240 lines (about 6000 words) in a 7-inch by 19-inch column
• Motor Insurers Bureau for their Form of Assignment
• NBI Information Systems for a letter

1997^[9]

• Amadeus International for a job advertisement
• Department of Trade and Industry for their draft regulations on Prams and Pushchairs
• North East Lincolnshire Council for a report
• The Office of Passenger Rail Franchising for a reply to a customer about overcrowding on trains
• Oxford City Council for a Health and Environment Committee report
• Wareham Associates for a leaflet describing a one day seminar
• United Kingdom Warehousing Association for a contract

1998^[10]

• Birmingham professor David Booth
• Department of Trade and Industry's draft legislation for the Minimum Wage
• Assignment of Fees agreement from the Diocese of Durham
• The Home Office's Guidance on Statutory Crime and Disorder Partnership for the Crime and Disorder Bill 1998
• Letter from Inland Revenue (Leigh District)
• North West Anglia Healthcare Trust advert
• Letter from the Office of National Statistics
• Safeway advert for new store in Chapel-en-le-Frith

1999^[11]

• Bansal Estates of Coventry for a guarantor statement
• Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies for a Catering Studies assignment question
• The Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for a consultation paper on 'the Implementation of the IPPC Directive'. Schedule 7, section 4.3.
• The Department for Trade and Industry, for the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Schedule 7, section 3 (1) (c))
• Computer firm Elonex plc for a 'force majeure' clause in its terms and conditions
• Glasgow Royal Infirmary's Centre for Rheumatic Diseases for a patient information card
• Strathclyde Joint Police Board for a council report

2000^[12]

• Britannia Building Society rules
• Department of Social Security Housing Benefit and Council Tax circular
• A 'prestigious golf club' for proposed rule change
• US consultants Kline & Co's business manager Garrett Gee, quoted in Plastics and Rubber Weekly
• Liverpool Architecture and Design Trust advertisement
• The Ministry of Defence for a draft deed of indemnity
• NPI Portfolio Managers Limited for a letter to an investor
• South West of England Regional Development Agency for a leaflet ('Regional Strategy for the South West of England 2000 to 2010')
• Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council for a tree preservation order
• Internet company Yahoo for a section from their terms and conditions

2001^[13]

• British Forces Cyprus for a letter
• DfES for 'Instrument and Articles of Government for Further Education Corporations'
• Edinburgh Council for Craigmillar Masterplan Design Guide
• Financial Services Authority for consultation paper (CP98) on mortgage regulation
• RSA Examinations Board for Levels 3 and 4 advice and guidance standards
• Technomatic for terms and conditions
• University of Dundee for Design rationale of corporate identity
• Wheale Thomas Hodgins plc for job advert

2002^[14]

• A bricklaying NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) document describing the act of laying a brick in a wall
• Web design firm Anadrom Ltd for a mission statement
• An unnamed lawyer for their suggested replacement for the word 'container' in a patent application
• Paragraph 59 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (2002), Part 5
• Management consultants Gleeds Group for a proposed employment contract
• Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd. for a letter
• Marconi's EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia) division for a reorganisation announcement
• Open College Network for part of an evening student's 'Credit Record' folder
• Waitrose for a mushroom label
• Wrexham County Council for a letter

2003^[15]

• Jungle.com for an e-mail
• Lloyds Pharmacy for a letter of apology
• Marks and Spencer for a 'food to go' salad label
• SMEG for their dishwasher instructions
• The Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations
• Standard Life for a trust deed
• Warburtons Bakers for an advertisement in 'The Grocer'
• Yousef El-Deiry for an article in JMC airline's 'Intercom' magazine

2004^[16]

• Bank of Scotland for a letter to Scottish Widows and a customer
• British Airways for terms and conditions
• Department of Health for a definition of a container in the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004
• European Commission for 'Innovate for a Competitive Europe' consultation document
• The GENIUS Project (based at the University of Reading) for a project overview
• Panorama Software for a brochure advertising a seminar with Microsoft
• Trilogy Telecom for an e-mail to a customer
• TriMedia for a press statement by CEO Chris Schwartz about a partnership to promote Captain Scarlet

2005^[17]

• Australian Taxations Office for its Goods and Services legislation
• Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust for an Agenda for Change document
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport for the new Licensing Act
• Halton Borough Council for a public notice
• Poole Lighting Limited for a set of instructions
• Scottish Executive for the Building (Scotland) regulations
• uk2net for an e-mail to a customer
• Wanadoo for 'Wireless and Talk' terms and conditions

2006^[18]

• Crafts Council of Ireland for a circular letter
• Germaine Greer for a column in The Guardian
• Bury County Court for a General Form of Judgment or Order
• Eastleigh Borough Council for a Notice given under the Building Act 1984
• Wheale, Thomas, Hodgins plc for a job advertisement
• Fife Council for a letter about a change to bin collection dates
• The Institute for Fiscal Studies for a website document description

2007^[19]

• Virgin Trains for a letter about problems booking online
• UKTV for a press release
• BAA for a sign at Gatwick Airport
• Fastway Couriers for terms and conditions
• Nestle for a 'Project News Report'
• Translink for a sign at Coleraine railway station
• Warwickshire Children, Young People and Families Division for meeting minutes

2008^[20][21]

• Scottish Life for a letter in response to an endowment policy query
• Met Office website for the Winter 2008 – 9 Forecast
• HM Revenue and Customs for a letter to a customer
• The Co-operative ecotown website
• VCA Midlands Centre for a letter
• DC Site Services for a response to a question on its website
• Balfour Beatty for its ‘Half-Year Update'
• Financial Services team at McGill University, Canada for a letter

2009^[22]

• Department of Health for information on their website about preventing disease
• Patient Access to Electronic Records Limited for the automated arrival system that replaces receptionists in doctors' surgeries
• Equity Red Star Insurance for a customer's motor insurance schedule
• Dublin Airport Authority for a 109 word clause on contractors' agreement
• LSIS (Learning and Skills Improvement Service) for a consultation booklet 'Statement of strategic direction' sent to schools
• Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service for a tax form to be completed by suppliers outside of the US
• Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd for a letter to distributors about deliveries
• JMJ Associates for a health and safety document for employees
• Balaclava Public School for a letter to parents about making iced cup cakes
• American Airlines Inc. for a "Property Irregularity Receipt"

2010^[23]

• Houses of Parliament for their archaic and hampering parliamentary language
• Met Office for 'empowering people to make their own decisions' by using the technical systems for the 'probabilities of precipitation'
• Harrow Council for their mysterious 'Personalisation Implementation Team'
• British Fencing Association for their general use of jargon and governance strategy that 'will innovate to ensure that we are successful on the piste'
• Flybe for a letter
• Microsoft Azure for their technical pricing language of 'small hours' and 'extra small hours' that just does not compute
• JTF Wholesale for the expressive instructions for their garden lawn sprinkler
• Directgov Motoring Website for an explanation for the upgrading entitlement for trailers
• Bishop of Blackburn for the Episcopal legalese in a letter that tells parishioners that their parish priest in charge may now become Vicar
• University of Kent for the first drama essay question to new first year university students
• Office for National Statistics for the listing of Standard Industrial Classifications that businesses must identify on the Companies House website

2011^[24][25]

• The Northern Ireland Civil Service for its instructions on how staff should take a half day holiday
• Mayor of London Boris Johnson for comments on the city's new bike hire scheme

2012^[26]

• Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral NHS Commissioning Support Service
• The Children's Mutual for 'Investors' Report December 2011'
• Close Brothers for a letter about the Close Beacon Investment Fund
• NHS Norfolk and Waverney for a letter explaining NHS fee structures
• Transport for London for 'London Road User Charging Registration Terms And Conditions'
• The NSG Group for a letter to Members and Pensioners of the Pilkington Superannuation Scheme
• NHS Litigation Authority for an explanation for rejecting an application to open a pharmacy at Madeley Surgery
• Enfield Council for a letter about the change of use of a building
• NHS Tayside for a governance dashboard discussion paper
• Department for Communities and Local Government for the Department’s 'Localising Support for Council Tax' document

2013^[27]

• University of Essex Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies notice about an open seminar
• Alliance Trust Savings for a letter
• The Department of Energy and Climate Change letter about the energy grants system
• Celtic Carvery & Alehouse for a 'Bar Manager/Manageress' job advertisement
• SEGRO’s Chief Investment Officer about its sale of a business park
• HM Revenue and Customs response after attempting to email them a file
• Manchester City Council for proposals about the sale of the former BBC site on Oxford Road

2014^[28][29]

• City of Edinburgh Council's 'Programme Momentum Progress Report'
• Local Action Cornwall's Local Development Strategy
• HM Revenue and Customs for web pages on drawdown pensions
• Pensions Ombudsman for 'Police and Firefighters' pension schemes – update number 16'
• James Hambro and Partners LLC for a letter sent to one of their clients
• British Telecom for an email error message
• Buckinghamshire County Council Consultancy Services Framework
• National Car Parks for an email
• Southeastern Railways' website
• BBC Media Action for an advertisement for a 'Senior Adviser, Economic Security and Opportunities'
• Scottish Power for a definition of Maximum Power Requirement in their Electricity General Terms and Conditions

2015^[30]

• Finlay Graham (estate agents) for 'Guarantor Agreement'
• 'PDR Boreholes' for an email response
• East Riding of Yorkshire Council for their 'Public Consultation update'
• Aqua Shard for an email response
• West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group for a response to a query about NHS Continuing Healthcare
• Origen Private Client Solutions
• Land Registry (Wales Office) offering
• Regen SW for an email about 'Renewable Heat Incentive'
• NHS Research & Development North West and North West Commissioning Support Unit for a job advertisement for a 'Creative Writer to Develop Archive Narrative' position
• ProFinda for an email
• Homes & Communities Agency paragraph
• Palgrave Macmillan book blurb
• Rugby Football Union for an email
• NHS East Coast Community Healthcare for a leaflet

2016^[31]

• HM Revenue & Customs's 'UK/FRANCE DOUBLE TAXATION CONVENTION'
• HCLTech
• SafetyNet
• Weetabix/Procure4
• Walmart
• Scottish Widows for a letter about pensions and 'lifestyle switching strategy'
• 'Melt Team' at 'Mobile Doctors Limited'
• Openreach
• British Council for a Project Manager job advertisement
• Bradleys Estate Agents webpage
• Stockport NHS Foundation Trust for a reply to a question
• Ofqual's 'Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) supplimentary Notice to Centres – Post-Results Services and Appeals'
• Engie
• United Nations Development Programme job description

2017^[32]

• An auction listing
• Horsham District Council
• CAF for a letter
• Scottish Assessors Association
• UNSW Management document
• Tim Hayward
• Nottingham City Council

2018^[33]

• Lake District National Park Authority for a 303-page document, 'Local Plan Review'
• Jonathan Twigg for a rugby report
• Deloitte Digital US
• Antonio Horta-Osorio
• East Riding of Yorkshire Council for an email
• Kevin Johnson
• IBM
• Matthew Moore at The Times
• The DWP
• A global telecommunications giant
• Steve Barclay, promoting the Prime Minister's much-maligned Brexit deal
• Transport for London for a letter

2019^[34]

• South Kesteven District Council for 'Tree Preservation Order'
• Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
• BT
• Braintree District Council for a response to a query about grant cuts
• Peter Schofield
• Open Democracy
• A telecommunications company

2020^[35]

• BT
• A landlord
• University of Strathclyde
• Ex Libris Group
• Malwarebytes EMEA
• NatWest
• NHS Digital Organisation Data Service (ODS) team response
• The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
• The British Council for a job advertisement
• Iceland
• Gov.UK website definition

2021

2022^[36]

• Ivybridge Parish Council for a post during an especially momentous British occasion
• Octopus Energy for a response
• University of Nottingham for a waffly job posting
• University of Kent website
• Knowledge Mentoring Global
• FLINTS
• Dr. Lou Mycroft MSET and Dr. Christina Donovan for 'Values, Practices and Impulses'
• BBC News for a job listing for Head of Culture & Development
• Courtauld Gallery website

See also

• Foot in Mouth Award

References

External links

• Plain English Campaign Official Website