§ Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what guidance she plans to issue to the Benefits Agency on its forthcoming obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to produce generic benefits information and information on individual benefits in a range of formats which blind and partially sighted people can access; [50923]
(2) what assessment she has made of the difficulties which blind and partially sighted people have in obtaining access to information on benefits. [51023]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyThe administration of the Benefits Agency is a matter for its Chief Executive, Peter Mathison. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Rev. Martin Smyth, dated 22 July 1998:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking what guidance she plans to issue to the Benefits Agency (BA) on its forthcoming obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to produce generic benefits information and information on individual benefits in a range of formats which blind and partially sighted people can access; and what assessment she has made of the difficulties which blind and partially-sighted people have in obtaining access to information on benefits.The BA is currently overhauling its leaflet programme to improve the standard of information that we provide for all our customers by simplifying the range of materials and focusing it entirely to the customers' needs. To continue equal access to the social security system, the Agency plans to produce the new material for various customer groups in large print, audio cassette and Braille.664WThe BA regularly conducts formal customer research and consults with customer representative organisations about their information needs. We have also looked at the benefit information needs of blind and partially sighted people as part of the customer research for Project Access, which aims to simplify the range of materials we provide for customers.The research explored how information should be provided, to whom it should be targeted and how it should be distributed.Consultation with customer representative organisations for various groups, including blind and partially sighted people, has also been part of the research process. Products are being developed in response to their feedback.The policy of Project Access will ensure that existing products will not be withdrawn until we are confident that the new information in alternative formats replaces them in an acceptable way for the various groups.I hope you find this reply helpful.