(2) whether the Central Office of Information has been involved in any submissions to the Market Research Standards Board made by or on behalf of Opinion Leader Research; and whether it has made submissions to the Market Research Standards Board regarding Greenpeace's complaint against Opinion Leader Research;
(3) whether the Central Office of Information has made representations to (a) Opinion Leader Research and (b) the Market Research Standards Board (MRSB) on the (i) timing and (ii) publication of the MRSB's decision about Greenpeace's complaint against Opinion Leader Research;
(4) how many meetings took place between the Central Office of Information and (a) Opinion Leader Research and (b) the Market Research Standards Board in relation to Greenpeace's complaint against Opinion Leader Research; on what dates those meetings took place; and who attended each meeting;
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Central Office of Information. I have asked the chief executive to reply.
Letter from Peter Buchanan, dated March 2009:
As Acting Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions [267088, 267089, 267090 and 267091] on a complaint made against Opinion Leader Research.
The Central Office of Information was first made aware by Opinion Leader Research of the complaint made against them to the Market Research Standards Board by Greenpeace on the 19 September 2007.
The Central Office of Information has made two submissions to the MRSB regarding Greenpeace's complaint against Opinion Leader Research. At the request of Opinion Leader Research, the Central Office of Information also provided information and comments on their submissions.
The Central Office of Information made no representations to Opinion Leader Research or the Market Research Standards Board about the timing or publication of the decision about Greenpeace's complaint.
The Central Office of Information had two meetings with Opinion Leader Research and BERR on 17 October 2007 and 28 February 2008. The following attended these meetings Hergen Haye, Fiona Wood and Brian Parry. The meetings also included other junior officials from both BERR and the Central Office of Information. The Central Office of Information also attended a meeting between Opinion Leader Research and the Market Research Standards Board on 22 October 2007. Fiona Wood attended this meeting on behalf of the Central Office of Information.