§ Mr. Madelasked Secretary of State for Social Services what steps he is taking to reduce the numbers of his Department's forms sent to the public and improve those which remain.
§ Mr. NewtonWe have recently set up a forms unit in the Department, consisting of specialist writers and designers and administrators, to organise a programme to eliminate unnecessary forms and improve the rest.
The forms produced by the Department's local and regional offices have already been reviewed. Some 60,000 such forms were being produced. The review has reduced this number by 21,000 and improved the quality of those which remain.
The Department has about 12,000 different forms in national use, of which about half go to members of the public. Over the next two years the forms unit will review about 150 of the major existing forms and help with the development of new forms. At the same time, staff throughout the Department will review the rest of our national forms, using guidance given in a special booklet, supplemented by training courses.
The guidance booklet, just produced by the forms unit, sets out a control system for introducing new forms and reviewing existing ones, and detailed guidance on simple language and design. It includes specific checks to ensure that forms in public use are considered from the user's point of view. They will be tested widely with appropriate representative groups of those — both officials and members of the public—who will have to use them; for example, a proposed postal application form for legal aid is being tested with legal advice centres. We have also arranged with some 250 organisations, such as adult education centres, to help us with testing on a regular basis.