§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government: What is their response to the British Dyslexia Association's advice on improving accessibility to information in government brochures and documents, particularly in the light of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [HL567]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonHer Majesty's Government, as a matter of good practice, make information available to as wide a range of people as possible, which includes those with literacy difficulties.
In February 2001, the Government launched good practice guidance Let's Make it Accessible for all government departments and agencies about how to make information for the public more accessible to disabled customers.
This guidance encourages government departrnents to comply with the "spirit as well as the letter" of the Disability Discrimination Act. This guidance refers to people with dyslexia and stresses the need to use "concise plain language" to increase everyone's understanding. The Department for Work and Pensions is currently working on an updated version of this document, but the original version can be found on the web at http://www.disability.gov.uk/images of disability/access.html