Information out of date, MPs report

About 40 per cent of a sample of Department for Work and Pensions information leaflets are out of date, MPs said this week.

A report by the Commons public accounts committee found some contained information that was several years out of date.

It also found that 13 commonly-used leaflets were written in language that could only be understood by people with above average levels of literacy, and hence inaccessible to people with learning difficulties and non-English speakers.

The department “still has a long way to go before it manages its communication activity effectively and efficiently,” the report said.

It recommended that the department research the needs of groups not catered for by standard leaflets.