§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the cost of the third survey being carried out for the Rural Payments Agency by a marketing research company, which is seeking the views of 2,500 farmers on the standard of the agency's service. [HL4580]
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§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)The cost of the third survey being carried out for the Rural Payments Agency by a marketing research company is £71,175. The costs cover consultancy, a telephone survey of 2,500 customers and subsequent analysis work. The cost also covers presentations of the findings to RPA management, staff and customer groups.
§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the cost of the first two customer service surveys carried out by the Rural Payments Agency; on what dates they were completed; and how many responses were received to each survey. [HL4602]
§ Lord WhittyThe 2002 survey was undertaken by consultants in July of that year at a total cost of £51,997. Feedback was obtained from 2,500 customers through telephone interviews. Consultancy costs included analysis work, reports and presentations to staff and industry groups.
The 2003 survey was undertaken by a different consultant company at a total cost of £82,213. Again 2,500 interviews were completed over the phone during November. Additional costs were incurred because of the merger of the Rural Payments Agency with the British Cattle Movement Service which resulted in longer interviews to cover extra questions.