asked the Minister for the Public Service the progress achieved to date by the special unit established to redesign departmental forms and circulars in the public service.
Written Answers. - Redesign of Forms and Circulars.
27.
Since I established the special forms design unit in my Department earlier this year, a campaign to improve administrative forms across the Civil Service has been implemented. The unit, which employs modern computer-aided design technology, has already completed the redesign of some 70 forms. Apart from improvements in quality and intellegibility of the forms in question, this has led to a reduction of some one quarter million pages per annum of printed output, and to substantial savings in costs. Five forms have been abolished. The unit expects to redesign some 250 forms in a full year.
The unit has also been heavily involved in the establishment of procedures within Departments to support the forms design campaign. Measures implemented to date include the following:
A forms officer has been appointed in every Department and office with specified responsibilities for the control, quality, content and usage of departmental forms.
A five day training course for officers engaged in forms design work has been developed and presented by the forms design unit.
Arrangements have been made for the testing of forms used by the public before final designs are adopted.
Special arrangements have been completed for the rapid printing by the Stationery Office of designs produced by the forms design unit.