§ Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list each item of market and opinion research commissioned since May 1997 by(a) her Department and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which her Department is responsible: what the purpose of each item was; and whether the results were published. [137013]
§ Ms HewittThe Department does not centrally collect the information sought at the required level of detail and to provide it would entail disproportionate cost.
Statistical surveys to businesses and local authorities conducted by the Department and its agencies are monitored centrally to facilitate control of compliance costs to business and departmental expenditure on survey activity. It is not possible, however, to determine with any degree of accuracy which surveys fall into the categories of market and opinion research, or which contain an element of these. The answer would incur disproportionate cost because of the need to ask all 321W Directorates in DTI, plus agencies and associated non-departmental public bodies, to attempt to provide details of each survey and piece of research commissioned since 1997.