Scottish Government Deletes Data from School Health and Wellbeing Census
The Scottish government and associated researchers have deleted data collected from a contentious Health and Wellbeing Census that surveyed school pupils as young as 14 about their sexual experiences.
The census was conducted among pupils in S4 to S6 across half of Scotland's council areas during 2021 and 2022.
Parents expressed concerns that they were not informed beforehand about the nature of the questions and were not asked to consent to their children's private information being shared.
In February 2022, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced a pause on the survey and acknowledged that the government "need to do better" in the methods used to gather data from pupils.
Background of the 'Sex Survey' Controversy
The Health and Wellbeing Census asked pupils to provide their views on various topics including physical and mental health, bullying, and academic pressures.
Older pupils were also questioned about their use of alcohol and tobacco starting from S2, gambling experiences from S3, and drug use from S4 onwards.
However, the section addressing sexual relationships generated significant controversy.
The questions were developed collaboratively by public health professionals, local authorities, schools, Education Scotland, and the Scottish government.
Following concerns about the lack of informed consent and the anonymity of responses, half of Scotland's 32 councils withdrew from participating in the census.
Opposition politicians criticized the survey, describing the questions posed to teenagers as "intrusive and inappropriate."
Further apprehension arose from reports indicating that data from the census was being made available to external researchers.
At the time, the Scottish government maintained that the census was confidential and voluntary, emphasizing its intention to better understand factors influencing pupil attainment and achievement.
Deletion of Data and Government Response
The Mail on Sunday revealed that the data has now been deleted by both internal and external users.
This action was confirmed in a statement from Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, who responded to a query from independent MSP Jeremy Balfour.
"It's almost unprecedented for the Scottish government to admit making a mistake and to withdraw all this information, but this is what has happened. It's a win for parents and for the safety of children."
A Scottish government spokeswoman acknowledged the concerns raised by parents and carers regarding the survey and stated that the government would not repeat the same survey format.
"The Scottish government has now deleted all versions of the 2021-22 Health and Wellbeing Census data held internally, and the recipients from any onward data sharing of this data, both internal and external, have also deleted their copies of these data.
Ministers recognise the importance of gathering relevant research and data on children's and young people's health and wellbeing, so that local and national policies and services can be designed to improve their lives.
We will continue to work with partners, including the NHS, to establish alternative ways of gathering this information."
An oversight board will review the situation, and the chief statistician will provide an update in due course, the spokeswoman added.
