§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pages in length is form AG1 which is required to be completed by patients wishing to obtain financial assistance with National Health Service prescriptions, dental treatment, and spectacles; how long he estimates that it would take an ably sighted person to complete it; how long it takes his Department's staff to scrutinise a form; how many staff are engaged in this operation; how much each form and explanatory notes costs to produce and print; and whether he has any plans to simplify form AG1.
§ Mr. PortilloForm AG1 needs to be completed only by people applying for help with NHS charges and the cost of travel to hospital for treatment if they are not already automatically entitled to such help because they are receiving income support or family credit. The form covers a variety of possible situations, so that many claimants will need to fill in only a limited number of its parts. How many of the questions have to be answered and the length of time it will take to complete the form, will depend on the circumstances of each individual claimant. Similarly this will determine the length of time taken in scrutinising the forms in the Department.
38WForm AG1 is one of a series of new personal claim forms based on extensive research which showed that the key factor in how people deal with forms is how clear or complicated individual pages are, rather than the overall length of the form. It is designed to be as comprehensive as possible and to minimise the need for further inquiries which were often necessary with the old forms. Form AG1 also replaces a number of separate forms which previously had to be completed to claim help with individual NHS charges.
A total of 315 staff are currently engaged on the assessment of claims on form AG1. The cost of each form, together with the accompanying explanatory notes and reply-paid envelope, is 15.1p.
We have no plans at present to modify the form, but will be keeping it under review in the light of practical experience.