Choose alternative contact formats

Available formats

DWP service teams should contact the DWP Citizen Preference service for a list of available formats. For other services, consider the following alternatives to a standard letter or phone call.

Written communication

Alternatives or changes to a standard letter might include:

• Large print (usually 16-point text)
• Bold text
• Double line spacing
• Coloured paper
• Alternative fonts
• Audio recording
• Braille (Grade 1 or Grade 2)
• Signed video with subtitles
• PDF, Microsoft Word, ODF or other electronic document format
• Email (plain text or HTML)

Not every letter can be replaced with an email: there may be legal requirements for some communications to be sent as a printed letter.

Spoken communication

Alternatives to a phone call might include:

• Text relay services such as Relay UK
• Video relay services for live sign language interpreting
• Live online chat
• In-person translation by an interpreter, for example using lipspeaking or the Deafblind Manual alphabet

Alternative formats for visually impaired people

Large print

By far the most commonly requested alternative format is large print, which represents over 90% of all recorded alternative format needs in DWP.

It's likely that some people recorded as needing large print will be better served by another format, but have not been offered those alternatives or asked to update their preferences since those formats became available.

Braille

There are two styles of Braille: uncontracted (grade 1) and contracted (grade 2). Grade 1 replaces each letter with a Braille sign and is helpful for learners. Grade 2 also has special signs for common words or groups of letters, meaning it is quicker to read and takes up less space.

Formats for deaf or speech impaired people

Relay UK (formerly TypeTalk and NGT)

Relay UK is a national service run by BT which helps deaf or speech impaired people communicate over the phone with hearing people. It can be used via the Relay UK app on a mobile or with a textphone (see below).

It was launched in 1991 as TypeTalk, and only worked on textphones. It was relaunched in 2014 as Next Generation Text (NGT) and then renamed Relay UK.

The deaf or speech impaired person types in what they want to say and a Relay Assistant (person in the middle of the conversation) reads it out to the hearing person. The hearing person then speaks their reply and the Relay Assistant types it in so the deaf or speech impaired person can read it.

Other people can call or text the Relay UK user by inserting 18002 before their normal phone number. They can also have their own “TextNumber” which uses Relay UK directly. The pattern includes a screen for people to tell us their Relay UK number.

Textphone

A textphone is a physical device with a keyboard and display screen. They are no longer in production in the UK. The main brands of textphone were Minicom and Uniphone.

Textphones are used by customers who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech problem. All areas of DWP have a number by which a textphone user can contact us.

Research has found that some users think the ‘textphone’ option means SMS text messaging.

From the RNID Relay UK page:

"A textphone is a type of landline phone that has a keyboard and display screen. You type what you would like to say and can read the reply on the display screen. You can use a textphone to have a phone call using a relay assistant.

Due to the introduction of new technology, such as the Relay UK app, textphones are no longer in production in the UK and can only be bought second-hand.

When TypeTalk was launched in 1991 it needed a textphone to work. Since 2014 Relay UK has been available which also works on mobile phones, computers and tablets."

Video Relay

The Video Relay Service (VRS) allows customers to contact DWP via a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter using a video connection. It is only available for inbound calls (DWP cannot use it to make calls to customers). If it is available it is usually offered on the GOV.UK start page of a service.

Signing and lipspeaking

Sign language can be helpful for both written and spoken communication: sign language users may find it easier to understand than written English. In written communications this may be a prerecorded video of a signed version of a document; for phone calls it may be a live sign language interpreter.

Remember that there may be better ways to meet someone's needs than translating a form, especially if it is long: for example, an in person visit or interview may be another way of collecting the information.

A lipspeaker is a hearing person who has been professionally trained to be easy to lipread. They can also use finger spelling and sometimes sign language to aid understanding.

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Last updated: 1 December 2023