Channel 4's Can't Read, Can't Write follows an adult literacy class as their teacher tries to get them to learn basic reading and writing skills. It's inspirational TV but also jaw-dropping that people in their 50s have got through life unable to spell their own child's name or read a shopping list.

According to the National Literacy Trust 1.1m people aged 16-65 are at or below Entry Level 1 - the most basic competence level. A further four million people in this age range have a literacy level comparable to an 11-year-old.

Council publications are notorious for their jargon and obtuseness. I spend a fair bit of my work time decoding council-speak for people.

The Improvement and Development Agency has some useful guides on getting information out in a lanugage which most people can understand.

But C4's programme made me wonder if treating this as a plain English problem is enough. I'm not sure it is adequate when comes to communicating with five million council tax-payers with the lowest literacy levels.

Simply producing another leaflet but with fewer and smaller words isn't going to work.