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DWP leaflets 'too complicated'

A committee of MPs has found that Department for Work and Pensions leaflets are too complicated for most members of the public to understand. In a report released recently, the Commons public accounts committee claimed people could be missing out because the documents explaining their rights are too hard to comprehend. Only 81 of the current 178 leaflets have gained the Plain English Campaign’s Crystal Mark for comprehensibility, it found.

Committee chairman Edward Leigh said: “Where leaflets contain information which is inaccurate, out-of-date or impossible to understand, then the consequences can be serious indeed. “Vulnerable citizens are misled about their entitlements, administrative errors are multiplied and, in some cases, vast sums of money squandered.”

A DWP spokesman said: “We have undertaken a fundamental review of all our leaflets with the aim of producing a new, streamlined set. “The leaflets will all be tested with customers and submitted for the Crystal Mark before they are published.”

David Laws, Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman, said: “The sheer volume of information the government pumps out is hardly surprising considering the ludicrous complexity of our benefits system. “We now have 50 separate benefits with around 250 different rates. The hundreds of complicated leaflets needed is symptomatic of a benefits system at breaking point. “People should receive benefits based on need, not on how savvy they are at filling out lengthy claims forms.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .