STAFF at a York company are narrowing the North-South divide and making regular 600-mile trips in the name of business.

York-based research and marketing agency Questions Answered Ltd (QA) thinks nothing of going the extra mile, or indeed 600 extra miles, for business.

The company, which employs nearly 100 staff at its offices at Brackenhill, St George's Place, York, has won a four-year research contract to manage community consultation and citizen involvement research on the South Coast of England.

Arun District Council, one of West Sussex's eight district councils, has renewed its contract with QA despite the significant geographical difference between York and the South Coast.

The council has worked with QA since 1999 with staff from the York firm making regular 600-mile round trips to West Sussex.

Ali Turnham, project director with QA, said: "We've worked with the council for three years now and the distance between York and the South Coast has never been a problem for us. It is central to the company's philosophy that we don't give clients problems, rather we present them with solutions - and we are always looking for bigger challenges.

"In the past year QA has also developed new clients in London, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Northumberland, Merseyside and North Wales. In research, distance can cause difficulties, but we'll always go that extra mile to give our clients peace of mind."

The contract means that QA is responsible for recruiting and managing a Citizen's Panel of 2,000 residents, and a Business Panel of more than 400 businesses.

Citizen and Business Panels are made up of local residents and businesses that agree to be surveyed on a regular basis about issues of local importance. The views and opinions collected from panels are then used in the development of local authority provision and services.

Updated: 09:45 Tuesday, June 17, 2003