The Home Office conducts a wide range of research activities that support the development of information-led policy, including surveys of public opinion that consider Home Office issues and its related areas of responsibility. The Department commissions such work only when it is justified by the specific needs of a particular policy or programme and when this is the most economic, efficient and effective way to achieve the purpose. Consulting and involving the public helps inform both policy formulation and delivery of better quality public services.
Research programmes are often complex and combine a mixture of quantitative and qualitative elements. It is therefore not possible to break down the costs of opinion polling from the overall cost of a research project. The breakdown requested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.