Press Release - Difficult Forms: How government agencies
interact with citizens
31 October 2003
Government forms filled in by citizens can be made shorter and
much easier to use leading to better access to services and
considerable efficiency gains, Sir John Bourn, the head of the NAO,
reported to Parliament today.
Forms remain essential to the delivery of a wide range of
government services. If forms are well designed and easy to handle,
then there will be fewer errors and less administrative load,
leading not only to better access to services but also improved
efficiency. For example, it costs the Department for Work and
Pensions just over £40 each time to process one of the 400,000
applications it receives for attendance allowance each year, and
the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency on average almost £8 each time
to process one of the 6 million applications for photocard licences
each year. Even a five per cent saving in processing costs for
these two forms could save £3.2 million each year.
For citizens, filling in forms is one of the most frequent ways
that they interact with departments and agencies. Forms are
therefore crucial in shaping citizens perceptions of public
services. The forms used by departments and agencies tend to be
colourful, use large fonts for print and employ plain English, but
they also often have complex internal structures, where users
become unsure what bits to fill in. Forms often mix up questions
answered by large groups of people with other questions relevant
only for small groups of citizens.
Government forms are often very long and many also ask for very
large amounts of information. A census of Government forms filled
in by UK citizens showed that by far the longest forms are in the
welfare and education fields. Targeting better-designed forms at
specific groups of people (an approach called customer
segmentation), should mean shorter forms. Until now, problems in
departments and agencies IT systems have meant that they have to
ask people for information that they should already know.
Departments and agencies need to use modern improvements in IT
systems to tackle these constraints.
Departments and agencies need to monitor citizens use of forms
and use a range of methods, such as focus groups and surveys, to
keep their forms under review and respond to problems. The best
results can come from radical reengineering of forms and some
departments are already moving in this direction. For example, from
2005 around one in six higher rate taxpayers with simpler tax
affairs should be able to fill in the new Short Tax Return being
piloted by Inland Revenue, which is quarter the length of the
current main self-assessment return. And a new version of the
Attendance Allowance form for elderly people should be half the
length of its predecessor. These shorter forms should bring
considerable benefits to both citizens and departments.
The advice and guidance issued by government departments with
forms is also often difficult to use. Focus groups of citizens
complained that too many forms came with very large amounts of
guidance, for instance, the current Inland Revenue notes
accompanying the Income Tax Self-Assessment form. Guidance notes
and leaflets need to be dramatically shortened. Agencies should use
more pictures and graphics and aim for a quick start approach that
helps citizens get forms filled in as quickly as possible.
Sir John Bourn said today:
"Many citizens deal solely or chiefly with government by
filling in paper forms. Departments need to think more about the
design and use of the form from the point of view of the user with
the aim of making it easier for all citizens to deal with
Government. They should review their practices in the light of our
recommendations and the practical guide on designing and reviewing
forms to be separately published before the year end. This will not
only make it easier to deal with Government but will also save a
considerable amount of taxpayers money."
Notes for Editors
- The study was based on a census of government forms filled in
by citizens, and detailed examination of the practices of six
departments and agencies in relation to six forms filled in by more
than 20 million citizens each year. Focus groups with 200 citizens
were asked to examine which aspects of the following six forms were
well-designed and which had problems:
- Application for Attendance Allowance
- Application for financial support for students entering higher
education
- Application for a photocard driving licence
- European Parliament elections ballot paper
- Income Tax Self Assessment form
- Passport application
- The report was contracted out to a team led by Professor
Patrick Dunleavy from the London School of Economics and Political
Science and Professor Helen Margetts from University College
London.
- A separate practical
guide for departments and agencies on Improving and Reviewing
Government Forms will shortly be available on the NAO website
at http://www.nao.org.uk/and
the London School of Economics and Political Science and University
College of London website at http://www.governmentontheweb.org/
A summary report of the focus group results and the results of the
census of Government forms in the UK are also available on these
websites.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at http://www.nao.org.uk/ Hard copies can
be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 63/03
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