Day 257 - 06 Jun 96 - Page 23

     
     1        A.  Yes, it would appear to be so.  Certainly, the research
     2        would be of no use to us if they visited the same 2,000
     3        people.  So that certainly is not what happens.
     4
     5   MS. STEEL:   Well, I am not going to pursue this.  I do not
     6        understand if that is the case why it would say 'respondent
     7        number' and 'original name', because I do not see what that
     8        would have to do with.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  There we are?
    11        A.  It is not an area that I have any expertise in, it is
    12        the technicalities of the research company.
    13
    14   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can anyone get hold of the electoral roll for
    15        poll purposes?
    16        A.  Yes, it is available.  Yes.
    17
    18   Q.   So they can look up my address and see exactly who has
    19        declared themselves as an elector living there?
    20        A.  Yes.
    21
    22   Q.   No secrecy at all?
    23        A.  It relates back to census data and the electoral roll
    24        is held on a local basis, so it is possible to review it.
    25
    26   Q.   That is why I get so much unwanted mail?
    27        A.  Yes.
    28
    29   MS. STEEL:  I think they actually sell the electoral register to
    30        people.
    31
    32   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The local authority do, do they?
    33
    34   MS. STEEL:  I think so, yes.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  There we are.  That is nothing do with this
    37        case.  I can be penalised if I do not fill in the form?
    38        A.  Yes.
    39
    40   MS. STEEL:  Do you have any knowledge, in terms of this
         questionnaire would it be mostly the head of the household
    42        that was answering the questionnaire?
    43        A.  Yes, it would.
    44
    45   Q.   Right.  Is that the aim of it, to get the head of household
    46        to answer the questionnaire?
    47        A.  The aim would be to get someone responsible and within
    48        the appropriate sample criteria to answer the
    49        questionnaire.  We allow people to sell who the head of
    50        household is, it may be the mother or the father or someone 
    51        else in the household. 
    52 
    53   Q.   But what I meant by that question was, when they go to the
    54        door is it generally, like, the head of the household that
    55        is asked for and then it is up to whoever answers the door
    56        to find whoever they think it is who is the head of
    57        household?
    58        A.  The way that this is actually conducted, which led to
    59        some of my initial confusion on this, is that the
    60        recruitment for the research normally takes place on the