§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list for the People's Panel(a) the total value and duration of its contract with MORI, (b) the number of times it is expected to be convened in 1998, (c) the selection criteria and procedures used to pick its members, (d) which Ministers determined the terms of selection, (e) which Ministers will have access to the results of the Panel and (f) if the information made available to Ministers will be (i) placed in the Library and (ii) made publicly available. [48692]
Mr. Kilfoyle [holding answer 3 July 1998]: (a) The People's Panel contract with MORI is for three years, subject to a review after one year. As it is a Framework Agreement rather than a standard contract, its value will depend on the amount of research that is commissioned. The actual value of the Framework Agreement is a nominal £5. The cost of setting up the Panel is around £80,000 and first wave research will be about a further £300,000.
(b) The Panel will not be "convened" in that sense. It is not designed to meet as a single group—this would not be cost effective or useful. Groups of Panel members will be brought together for focus groups and other deliberative research, but research will generally be conducted on an individual survey basis.
(c) Potential panel members are selected from a random sample of Postal Addresses from across the UK. Individuals are randomly selected from within each household using a Kish grid. They are recruited by face-to-face interviews in their own homes.
(d) Cabinet Office Ministers decided that Panel members should be randomly selected, in order that the Panel is a representative cross-section of society.
(e) The results will be published and so all Ministers will have access to them.
338W(f) The results will (i) be placed in the House of Commons library, and (ii) be made publicly available, on the Cabinet Office website.