Benefits and tax data ‘most unclear’

Benefits and tax offices are the worst offenders in failing to produce information that people with learning difficulties can understand easily, according to a survey.

Mencap found that six out of 10 people with learning difficulties said they received unclear documents from benefits and tax offices, compared with 53 per cent for banks and 36 per cent for utility companies.

Bus and train timetables or maps were the most difficult documents to understand, followed by the small print on legal documents.

More than half of people with learning difficulties said they or someone they knew had missed appointments or lost out financially because of unclear documents.

The survey was published as part of Learning Disability Week, which runs from 18 to 25 June.