(2) what the tendering process was for the qualitative research project on the BBC Trust and the television licence fee, produced by Opinion Leader Research in December 2005.
The Department used the expertise of the Central Office of Information and its well established roster system to allocate the project.
Opinion Leader Research was selected for this project by the Central Office of Information from its roster as the most appropriate agency available to conduct this research, taking into account its previous experience, expertise, and most importantly, its capacity and availability for a project which needed to be completed within a short timescale.
The Central Office of Information sets up framework agreements with companies in a manner fully compliant with the procurement rules of the European Union. The framework agreements are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Journal and are refreshed on a regular basis.
Suppliers are appointed to the frameworks on the basis of their expertise, capability and value for money.