§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what expenditure has been incurred by his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies(a) in 1996–97 and (b) since 1 May 1997 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; if he will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each; and if he will make a statement. [26667]
§ Mr. HoonThe figures are as follows:
Lord Chancellor's Department and associated offices Project Cost £ 1996/97 (i) Opinion polling MORI survey of court users to assess extent to which non-professional users would prefer to appear in court either on Saturday morning or on a weekday evening 19,975 (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research (1) Research by Professor John Baldwin into the effect of the rise in the Small Claims Limit 24,788 (2) Research by De Montfort University into take-up of Magistrates Courts Inspectorate information leaflets 70 Since 1 May 1997 (i) Opinion polling None — (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research (1) Research by Professor John Baldwin into the effect of the rise in the Small Claims Limit 11,205 (2) Research by Central Office of Information on ways to create a broader base of applicants to the magistracy 38,000 848W
Court Service Project Cost £ 1996/97 (i) Opinion polling None — (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research (1) ONS Omnibus Survey into public awareness of the Small Claims procedure 2,645 (2) Public attitude Survey for Sheffield Combined Court's pilot user survey 5,052 Since 1 May 1997 (i) Opinion polling None — (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research (1) ONS Omnibus Survey into public awareness of the Court Service 3,600 (2) British Market Research Bureau: staff opinion survey into Investors in People 25,591
Land Registry Project Cost£ 1996/97 (i) Opinion polling Customer Service Survey to identify areas for improvement in the delivery of the Registry's services 3,541 (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research None — Since 1 May 1997 (i) Opinion polling (1) Independent Customer Service Survey to provide independent verification of customers' satisfaction with the delivery of services and identify areas for improvement 13,285 (2) Consultation Paper on a proposal to restore "Price Paid" to the Land Register 3,191 (ii) Focus groups Customer Service. Discussions with key customers on areas for improvement in delivery of services 790 (iii) Other forms of market research Interviews with key customers on specific areas of service improvement 500
Northern Ireland Court Service Project Cost £ 1996/97 (i) Opinion polling Community Attitudes Survey—the public's attitudes to law, order, and security issues 5,920 (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research None — Since 1 May 1997 (i) Opinion polling None — (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research Contribution towards a survey on Divorce commissioned by the Office of Law Reform 10,000
Public Record Office Project Cost £ 1996/97 (i) Opinion polling None — (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research — Since 1 May 1997 (i) Opinion polling None — (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research None — 849W
Public Trust Office Project Cost £ 1996/97 (i) Opinion polling None — (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research None — Since 1 May 1997 (i) Opinion polling None — (ii) Focus groups None — (iii) Other forms of market research None —
Legal Aid Board Project Cost £ 1996/97 (i) Opinion polling MORI poll into public awareness of legal aid in general, and franchising in particular 7,050 (ii) Focus groups none — (iii) Other forms of market research none — Since 1 May 1997 (i) Opinion polling MORI poll into public awareness of legal aid in general, and franchising in particular 7,050 (ii) Focus groups MORI focus groups to review promotional material in support of public awareness of franchising 2,115 (iii) Other forms of market research None —