Mr. Matthew Collins:

I would not put it into such a context of just refusing to do work. We have already undertaken work in this area. Rather than just us carrying on and doing the same work again, the added value is through bringing the real expertise. There are leading academics in the research institutes and the CSO. Drawing on their expertise will provide much more valuable data that can inform that policy development. As I said, we carried out a study in 2016. The same methodology was applied again and separate research was done by ESRI. The question was whether the Department should carry out its own study while the separate work was going on in the CSO. It did not seem to be the best use of resources that we would in some way divorce ourselves from what the expertise in the CSO was doing. The ESRI has an extensive ongoing programme. The funding comes from both Departments and there is oversight from both Departments. It really was an attempt to establish the best way of getting the most value for money and the most useful indicators to inform the policy. It is working towards developing that analysis.