How will you ensure it is accurate?
Sometimes a piece of information can take months to get to the publishing stage. Addresses can change, rates go up, and new schemes introduced while you're busy debating phrasing with the expert. So you need to make sure that your information is accurate from the start and then carry out a last minute check just prior to publication.
Use reliable source material.
If you're doing some of the writing yourself it's important that you base your information on sources that you can trust and understand.
- Legislation, guidance, and codes of practice are the obvious places to look. For example, the College of Law use specialist legal textbooks and electronic legal information as the basis for their training pack materials. However, this kind of information can be difficult to penetrate if you're not legally trained.
- Information from government departments is usually easier to understand and should be reliable. There are of course exceptions. For example, in 2000 it was discovered that the government had been giving out incorrect information about SERPS (the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme) for years24. However, this was an aberration.
How they do it
The Public Information team at Citizens Advice uses Advisernet, the information system used by advisers in bureaux, to write their information. Advisernet is written by internal experts at Citizens Advice.
If you don't have access to these kinds of resources, ask an expert to put some source material together for you.
Keep a record of your sources.
Leaflets for the public shouldn't be splattered with references to legislation, but it's useful to keep a log of the source of all information for yourselves to help when answering queries and updating.
How they do it
Shelter Scotland keep a copy of all their webpages on file with notes explaining the source of the information.
If you have a panel of experts commenting on drafts, any inaccuracies are very likely to be spotted as soon as they creep in.
If you don't, you should try to check the accuracy of each draft yourself.
Ensure you have the information peer reviewed by an appropriate expert.
(See What stages will you go through?).
How many nations?
Are you aiming your information at people in more than one country of the UK? If so, you need to be aware of differences in the rules for each nation.
- Make sure you speak to intermediaries and users from each country.
- Make sure your information looks relevant to people from all the nations included by using case studies and examples that explicitly include them.
- When signposting, include appropriate regional organisations, and check that 'national' organisations you signpost to really do cover the whole of the UK.
- Check that your peer reviewer is familiar with the situation in all the nations you are covering or have it peer reviewed separately for each country.
Better Information Handbook 
