§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his estimate is of total expenditure by his Department on(a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 1995–96 to 2003–04; and if he will make a statement. [162747]
Mr. Gareth ThomasIn 1998, DFID commissioned Opinion Leader Research (OLR) to undertake baseline focus group research among the UK public. In 2003, we commissioned OLR to undertake further focus group research to explore ways of increasing understanding and support for international development it in the UK. DFID also commissions two annual opinion polls on public attitudes to development. One poll, undertaken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), monitors the
Focus groups Cost (£) Opinion polls Cost (£) Total (£) 1997–98 OLR Baseline Study 43,000 — — 43,000 1998–99 — — — — 1999–2000 — ONS Poll 28,200 44,704 MORI Poll 14,700 Developments Survey 1,804 2000–01 — ONS Poll 33,000 47,629 MORI Poll 14,629 2001–02 — ONS Poll 34,300 45,815 MORI Poll 11,515 2002–03 — ONS Poll 31,880 43,395 MORI Poll 11,515 2003–04 OLR Research 50,309 ONS Poll 32,990 95,519 MORI Poll 12,220