§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what use he and his Department has made of focus group research since June 2001; if he will identify for each research project the topics covered, the person or organisation carrying out the research, and the total cost; and if he will publish the research on his Department's website. [74985]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made use of focus group research on two occasions since June 2001.
In March 2002, we commissioned a research paper on "Community Perceptions of Forced Marriage". It looks at the perceptions of forced marriage held by British Bangladeshis and Pakistanis of different generations and social backgrounds. We paid Professor Yunas Samad (University of Bradford) and Professor John Eade (University of Roehampton) a total of £30,000. They made extensive use of focus groups in Bradford and Tower Hamlets. The results of the research will be published on 12 November 2002. The paper will be available in hard copy and on the FCO website.
493WSeparately, in July 2002, ICM Research carried out four focus groups for the FCO on attitudes to Britain's membership of the European Union. The total cost was £10,575. The exercise formed part of an FCO internal research project and the participants were informed that their contributions would be treated in confidence. The results will therefore not be published.