A SOCIAL research firm has hit back at claims the consultation it carried out for Dorset's super council proposal was biased and misleading.

Swansea-based Opinion Research Services (ORS) told the Echo it regularly manages public consultation programmes and its reports "are objective and clearly set out the full range of feedback that is received".

The criticisms from Christchurch councillors, reported in Monday's Daily Echo, follow last month's borough referendum in 84 per cent of voters opposed plans to merge Christchurch with Bournemouth and Poole - sometimes called 'option 2b'.

By contrast, the ORS household survey found that a majority of respondents in Christchurch backed the merger plan.

In a statement, the firm said: "ORS understands the public concerns about the proposed local government reorganisation and we also recognise the important role that Christchurch Borough Council has in representing and protecting the public interest.

"However, the 2016 household survey provided a reliable measure of public opinion based on the consultation document and the range of options available, subject to the confidence intervals reported.

"It is also important to note that the consultation report did not depend solely on the household survey, but also presented findings from the open questionnaire (recognising majority support in Christchurch for keeping nine councils), from an extensive programme of deliberative workshops and numerous written submissions."

ORS said the referendum had asked only one question, more than a year on from its own consultation, after months of coverage and campaigning.

"Therefore, taking all of the evidence into account, the ORS report fairly concluded that the consultation showed 'widespread public support for the restructuring of local government' in Dorset and that 'in general, across all areas of Dorset, there was an emphatic preference for option 2b as the fairest and most balanced of the three'."

The survey opened asking residents whether they think councils should provide value for money, before listing the savings associated with the presented merger options.

Critics have disputed the figures, provided by Local Partnerships, a company part owned by HM Treasury, and claimed the survey asked leading questions.

Those behind the super council plan claim the analysis was "impartial" and Local Partnerships was "independent".

Also, they have claimed the household survey figures are accurate "to around ±2 percentage points for the entire Dorset population".

Poole council leader Janet Walton, who is also chairman of the Joint Committee set up to implement the merger, said: "Borough of Poole has full confidence in the results of the public consultation conducted by ORS, who are amongst the most well-respected and experienced researchers in the country.

"The results of the representative household survey showed that 63 per cent of residents supported a single unitary council for Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch, while 55 per cent of residents who took part in the open questionnaire, available for all residents, also supported the same approach."

ORS has recently attracted criticism from those campaigning against NHS Dorset's Clinical Services Review, for which it also carried out a consultation.