The Public Engagement Service Office (PESO) builds relationships with other public bodies and external organisations across Scotland to support planning and delivery of parliamentary public engagement activities.
PESO maintain a contact list of the people they work with externally for the purpose of tracking partner communications and relationships. We store names, organisations, work addresses, work email addresses and work telephone numbers for the purpose of notifying people when PESO make plans for possible collaboration on public engagement activities, or to update on work undertaken or in development together. It may also allow them to receive newsletters or be made aware of any other public engagement activities delivered by the Scottish Parliament.
Normal category data such as names, organisations, work addresses, work email addresses and work telephone numbers.
Personal data is provided to us directly from individuals in public bodies and external organisations that we work with.
Data protection law states that we must have a legal basis for handling your personal data.
The processing of personal data in these circumstances is necessary for the performance of a task that is carried out in the public interest or the exercise of official authority of the SPCB in terms of Article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
The task is to facilitate PESO to collaborate with other public bodies and external organisations to aid in the planning and delivery of public engagement which is part of the core tasks of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) and is therefore a Crown function in accordance with section 8(d) DPA. However, you are able to unsubscribe from the contact list at any point from which we will cease to process your personal data (see below, under “Retention of personal data‟.)
The contact list held by PESP is not shared with any other organisations or third parties. This information is only shared internally with managers/admin staff within PESO where necessary.
Contact details: names, organisations, work addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers are held securely on Scottish Parliament IT systems. People have the opportunity to unsubscribe at any time by contacting the Public Engagement Service Office. All contact details will then be deleted from the system and you should no longer be contacted by PESO.
Data will be reviewed on a 6 monthly basis with an email being sent to everyone on the list asking if they wish to still be included on it to ensure it is accurate and up to date. If there are repeated bounce backs from an email address parliament staff will remove the contact from the list.
In line with the principles underlying the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland, our staff may report a concern to the relevant authorities if they come across an issue during their work which causes them to think that a child may be at risk of abuse or harm.
Data protection legislation sets out the rights which individuals have in relation to personal data held about them by data controllers. Applicable rights are listed below. You can exercise your data subject rights in particular circumstances depending on the purpose for which the data controller is processing the data and the legal basis upon which the processing takes place.
The following rights may apply:
You have the right to request a copy of the personal information about you that we hold.
Further information on how to make a data protection 'subject access request'.
You have the right to ask us to correct the personal data we hold about you. We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up to date and you may ask us to correct any personal information about you that you believe does not meet these standards.
Where we use your personal information to perform tasks carried out in the public interest then, if you ask us to, we will stop using that personal information unless there are overriding legitimate grounds to continue. The right to object to the processing of personal data for the purposes of a public interest task is restricted if there are legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interest of the data subject.
You have the right to ask us to delete personal information about you where:
In some cases, you may ask us to restrict how we use your personal information. This right might apply, for example, where we are checking the accuracy of personal information about you that we hold or assessing the validity of any objection you have made to our use of your information. The right might also apply where there is no longer a basis for using your personal information, but you don't want us to delete the data. Where this right is validly exercised, we may only use the relevant personal information with your consent, for legal claims or where there are other public interest grounds to do so.
Please contact us in any of the ways set out below if you wish to exercise any of these rights.
We keep this privacy statement under regular review and will place any updates on this website. Paper copies of the privacy statement may also be obtained using the contact information below.
This privacy statement was last updated on 26 September 2025.
If you have any further questions about the way in which we process personal data, or about how to exercise your rights, please contact the Head of Information Governance at:
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
Email: [email protected]
Please contact us if you require information in another language or format
If you are concerned that we have not handled your personal information properly you can make a complaint to the Information Governance Team of the Scottish Parliament at the following address: [email protected]. We will respond to your complaint without undue delay and within one month. If, having made a complaint, you are still concerned that your personal information has not been handled properly, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office.