A recent survey conducted among Scottish school pupils as young as 14 has sparked controversy over privacy and consent. The Health and Wellbeing census, organized by the Scottish government, included questions about sexual experiences and was completed by over 130,000 students. The survey aimed to gather data on students' health and wellbeing but has raised significant concerns about informed consent and the potential for identifying participants.
The survey, which varied in content based on age groups, posed questions to S4 students (ages 14 and 15) about their sexual relationships and use of contraception. While the initiative sought to inform health policies, it has faced criticism for advertising the data for use by external researchers without explicit consent from children or parents. The data is now publicly accessible through Research Data Scotland's website, further intensifying privacy concerns.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK has clear guidelines requiring "opt-in" consent for data collection. Despite this, 16 councils in Scotland proceeded with the survey, while half of Scotland's 32 councils withdrew due to concerns about informed consent and anonymity. Alarmingly, the survey included pupils' individual candidate numbers, which experts warn could be used to identify children. In 2023, the ICO warned the Scottish government that their methods of gathering, storing, and transferring data posed potential identification risks.
A Scottish government spokeswoman stated that participants could skip questions they were uncomfortable answering and that councils were responsible for advising on opting out. However, the spokeswoman also admitted that many parents were unaware of their children's participation. Over 134,000 children took part in the survey without active parental consent, with many parents allegedly not receiving notification letters.
"All participants in the survey had the opportunity to skip questions they did not wish to answer and councils were responsible for providing advice about opting out." – A Scottish government spokeswoman
"A lot of parents don't even know their children participated in this," – A Scottish government spokeswoman
Despite assurances that the data would only be used for statistical and research purposes and would remain non-identifiable, experts have contested these claims. A concerned parent from eastern Scotland, Sonia, expressed her worries about how children's data was collected and shared. She highlighted a lack of transparency and communication with parents regarding the survey's scope.
"134,000 children participated, none of them with active parent consent and many parents never received the letters." – A Scottish government spokeswoman
"They never opened the email or the letter is crumpled at the bottom of the school bag." – Sonia (a parent from the east of Scotland)
"It was only once you then looked several layers down into the information that you realised this was a much bigger exercise," – Sonia (a parent from the east of Scotland)
Sonia also criticized the secrecy around the survey questions, arguing that withholding such information from parents breaches trust between schools and families.
"They also wouldn't let parents see the questions." – Sonia (a parent from the east of Scotland)
"I think, once we're starting to keep secrets from parents and secrets from children and we're not asking parents to actively consent then we create a whole new level of risk and we start to break trust between schools and parents." – Sonia (a parent from the east of Scotland)
The Scottish Conservatives' spokeswoman for children and young people, Roz McCall, described the situation as "unacceptable" and a betrayal of young people's trust. The controversy underscores a broader debate about privacy, data protection, and parental rights in educational settings.
"The local authority will not tell anyone your answers, not your teacher or your family." – The survey form itself
"It was made clear that the data provided to the Scottish government, and subsequently made available to external researchers, would only be used for statistics and research purposes and therefore not identifiable from any results." – A Scottish government spokeswoman
