An inspectorate of the Department for Work and Pensions.

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Appendix A: Claim form

Introduction

Claim forms must be clear and accurate to ensure that claimants:

Barnet is currently testing a new draft of a single claim form. Examination of the draft revealed it to be a great improvement to the previous form.

Conclusions

Although the new form is a great improvement, there are further opportunities to improve its design. Our findings are reported below, under:

Findings

Layout

All claim forms should use a grid. A grid allows the page to be divided into columns which define specific areas for text, graphics, answer boxes or pictures. Most forms need a carefully structured and versatile grid to take account of subsidiary questions, a variety of sizes of answer boxes, instructional text and tick boxes. A grid of 6 equal columns usually gives enough flexibility.

A grid makes sure that layout is consistent. This helps the claimant, because the questions and the answer boxes always start in the same place. If the layout is not consistent people miss questions or get confused about the sequence. Using a grid also makes sure that questions start at the left margin, the usual place for the eye to start reading. Questions that start away from the left margin are often missed, unless there is some other pattern that draws the eye to them.

The Barnet draft form has no grid so answer boxes appear randomly across the page. Questions sometimes break onto a new line to give space before an answer box, but often text is simply allowed to run across the page. Answer boxes start when text ends, rather than at a specific distance from the left margin. Sometimes answer boxes appear below the question rather than next to it. This means that the claimant does not know where to look for the answer box and may miss it.

Gridless forms are also difficult to process if information has to be transferred onto a computer system. Without consistent visual reference points, data input is slow and inefficient.

There is a particular problem on the last page of Section 7 where the page is first divided into 2 columns for questions and answers on You and Your partner. The page then reverts to a single column layout with randomly placed answer boxes halfway down the page. This means that most of the answer boxes fall under the heading Your partner which is clearly not intended.

The problem of asking questions about You and Your partner can be solved in a number of ways. In the case of claim forms for benefits such as Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, where information is nearly always required for both partners, a landscape layout is used to provide extra width. Other forms use lines or space to divide these sections from others. Or it may be possible to use coloured tint boxes to highlight the special nature of these questions.

Signposting

There is no attempt to signpost the claimant through the form to ensure that they only fill in the parts that are relevant to them. A simple No/Yes question to introduce each section usually achieves this. If the answer is No, the claimant is told to go straight to the next section. For example:

Are you working? No [   ] Go to Section 4
Yes [   ] Please tell us about this here

This saves time for the claimant and reduces the risk of incorrect or irrelevant information being collected.

Numbering

Section 8 of the form uses a numbering system for questions. There appears to be no reason for this, especially since previous numbering relates to answers rather than questions. Information designers advise that question numbering can be confusing unless handled carefully. It should only be used if there is a need to refer to the question and there is no other reference method available. In most forms it is sufficient to refer to the heading and page number. For example, Go to The rent you pay on page 10. Barnet should consider removing these numbers.

Instructions

There are some occasions when more instruction would help the claimant. For example, the first instruction on the form says ¼ Use this form and tick the box if¼ There is no advice on what to do if none of the options apply. As one of the options is Other it implies that the form is applicable to everyone. If that is the case, the instruction is unnecessary. On 2 occasions the form tells students they will have to fill in an extra questionnaire but there is no advice on where to get this form. The claimant is asked to provide proof of exceptional leave to remain in the UK but there is no advice on what constitutes proof.

Format

There are many examples of using upper case letters irrelevantly or inconsistently. Barnet should ensure that upper case letters are only used if they are appropriate.

We also suggest that Barnet keeps to a standard type size through the form. The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) recommends a minimum type size of 12 points on any public document. BA generally produces forms in 10 or 11 point type. Some text on the draft does not meet these standards.

Clarity and accuracy

Some questions are confusing. For example, Does anyone get Constant Attendance Allowance? is followed by Does anyone get Invalid Care Allowance for them?, which implies that Invalid Care Allowance is only paid to carers of people who get Constant Attendance Allowance. This is not true. The question Are you/they registered blind? is confusing because there is no definition of they.

The immediate repetition of the word your in Occupational or Private Pension from your/your partner's work or service looks very odd. This would be better as Occupational or private pension from your work or your partner's work. Or Occupational or private pension from work paid to you or your partner.

There are some grammatical slips that might cause confusion. For example, the definition of partner as ¼ someone you live with as couple. Or in Section 7 about the partner's work details When did you start work? Most importantly, the Declaration uses I/we to indicate that the declaration applies to both the claimant and their partner. The claimant’s partner has to sign the declaration in his or her own right so just using I would be better.

In Section 6 of the draft, claimants are only asked for details of their bank or building society accounts if they have answered Yes to Do you or your partner have any savings or investments? In our experience, claimants do not always think of their bank and building society accounts as 'savings or investments'. This information may be captured more effectively if these terms are avoided and the claimant is simply asked about their accounts.

We note that Jobseeker's Allowance is spelt and punctuated wrongly throughout the form. We also suggest that abbreviations of benefit names do not have full stops. So we recommend IS rather than I.S. and JSA rather than J.S.A. We should also point out that there is no longer a benefit called One Parent Benefit.

Customer service

Barnet gives ample guidance to the claimant about sources of further information. We commend this demonstration of commitment to customer service. We also commend the inclusion of an instruction on the claim form in a number of relevant ethnic languages, but were surprised that there is not more information for claimants who might need help in another language. Information about local ethnic community groups or Citizens Advice Bureaux might be helpful.

Declaration

Good practice requires that there is a declaration on the claim form which includes:

The declaration on Barnet's new claim form meets all of the above requirements. By completing it, claimants also allow the authority to make any necessary enquires to verify the information on the form.

Conclusion

Barnet responded positively to BFI’s comments and is committed to making further improvements to its claim form.

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