HL Deb 13 July 1982 vol 433 cc128-9

2.45 p.m.

Baroness Sharples

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the number of Government forms which businesses are required to fill in has decreased since publication of the White Paper Administrative Forms in Government published on 17th February 1982 (Cmnd. 8504).

The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Young)

My Lords, in the White Paper the Government announced changes based on looking at 93 types of forms which mean 5 million fewer forms and leaflets for the public and businesses each year. Departments are now working on arrangements for improving the control and design of all forms. I expect that we shall be able to drop some, and we intend to make those which cannot be dropped easier and quicker to complete. That will save business time.

Baroness Sharples

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that encouraging reply, but I understand that there are 2,000 million forms in existence, and if we do them at the rate of 5 million a year I think it will take 100 years. Would my noble friend please assure me that the forms which are sent out are somewhat simpler than in the past, and easier to understand, and also that there is room on which to write the answers?

Baroness Young

My Lords, my noble friend has clearly read the White Paper well; it has indeed been identified that there are something like 2,000 million forms. This includes not only forms sent out to be filled in for particular information but, of course, follow-up letters as well. It is an enormous task, and departments are now making arrangements to review all their forms to see which ones can be dropped and to give priority to those forms which have the widest distribution and are the most important.

Lord Leatherland

My Lords, would the noble Baroness agree that the return for income tax purposes which many citizens have to make is one which might very well be dropped?

Baroness Young

My Lords, I fear it might be replaced by another, even if it was a simpler one.

Lord Bruce of Donington

My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that part of the complication that arises on the drafting of certain of the forms comes from the complexity of the innumerable regulations that are issued by Government departments; and will she pay attention, please, to the necessity for simplifying a good number of the regulations with which the country is inflicted at the present time?

Baroness Young

My Lords, I would agree with the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, that it is the complexity of some legislation which makes the design of forms most difficult; but the House may like to know that the leaflet entitled Filling in your VAT Returns in fact won a Plain English award last December from the National Consumer Council and the Plain English Campaign. So it is possible.

Lord Elwyn-Jones

My Lords, would the noble Baroness the Minister say what the plain English was?

Baroness Young

My Lords, I should be happy to send the noble and learned Lord one of the forms.

Viscount St. Davids

My Lords, will the noble Baroness ensure that her most praiseworthy efforts do not result in a long and complicated form sent out to all firms asking them which forms they want abolished or altered?

Baroness Young

My Lords, in fact we are consulting businesses on the type of form; and, depending on the particular business and the particular form, we would of course consult appropriate representatives of that business in order to obtain their advice on the form in regard to both its intelligibility and its ease of completion.