Government forms still too complicated says MPs
An influential committee of MPs has said that the Government need to make greater efforts to ensure forms are accessible.
In their study of Government forms they found that benefit forms in particular were often long and complicated.
They noted that as forms are one of the major points of contact between the Government and the public, difficult forms can have a negative impact on the perception of the quality of public services.
Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Public Accounts Select Committee said: “Government departments and other bodies have an obligation to make sure that their forms are quick and easy for members of the public to fill in, and minimise the need for people to supply the same information more than once.
“Improvements would reduce the burden of bureaucracy on the citizen, and lead to greater administrative efficiency and savings for the taxpayer.”
The Committee notes that documents wherever possible should be “pre-population”. This means that the key information should be automatically generated and citizens should then just have to check, sign and add any additional information.
The successful shorting of the Attendance Allowance form- which was reduced from 36 to 14 pages- the committee says shows that forms can be shortened without jeopardising integrity.
Departments are also urged to move more rapidly towards the aim of having all forms online by 2005, with the committee noting that online forms can eliminate many of the problems in completing forms by guiding citizens through the process.
It is also noted that, like the Pension Credit application phone line, assistance in completion reduces errors and results in cost savings.
