§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many market research and sample surveys were carried out by or for his Department in the last 12 months; what was the cost of each; what was the total cost; how many were carried out in-house; how many were carried out for his Department by outside organisations; and what percentage of the total expenditure was paid to outside organisations.
§ Mr. CopeA total of 38 sample surveys were carried out in the target period of which eight were continuous or annual surveys, for example, the family expenditure survey and the labour force survey. The remainder were ad-hoc surveys of varying size and complexity.
Total expenditure was £954,000 with the costs of individual surveys ranging from £400 to £192,000. Twenty-two surveys were conducted in-house (cost £832,000) and 16 were carried out for the Department by outside organisations (cost £122,000). Payment to outside organisations accounted for 13 per cent. of total expenditure.