The Scottish Parliament is carrying out this survey in order to obtain feedback from members of the public in relation to our content and services. This is to help ensure that the content and services we provide are relevant and engaging.
You are not required to complete the survey and you do not need to answer every question. We use the data received from the survey to assist us in planning and preparing future content and services. We may also process email addresses provided by those wishing to enter competitions, to allow us to select a winner.
The survey will be conducted using smart survey.
Read the SmartSurvey privacy policy
The survey does not ask for your name. It may ask for your opinions, age, sex, ethnicity, local authority area or disability status.
Since there is also an option to provide free text responses to some of the questions, we realise this might result in us capturing special category personal data. This is not data we are seeking or need and this privacy notice explains how we will remove it from what we store and use.
Special category data as defined by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). Special category data applies to personal data revealing:
Information is provided directly by individuals who choose to participate in the survey.
Data protection law states that we must have a legal basis for handling your personal data.
As participation in the survey is voluntary, the legal basis for the processing of personal data is that it is carried out with the consent of the data subject in terms of Article 6 (1)(a) of the UK GDPR and (for special category data) explicit consent in terms of Article 9(1)(a) UK GDPR.
The survey software program will ask you to indicate your consent and explain your right to withdraw your consent.
The data will be collected via Smart Survey which is a third-party digital tool that enables the Scottish Parliament to collect and analyse survey information. The data collected is stored securely by Smart Survey in the UK or EU.
Further information on SmartSurvey and GDPR
The data will be retained on Smart Survey for a period of seven months.
When we take the data from Smart Survey and move it to the Parliament’s systems, we will remove any personal data and ensure all responses are anonymised. We will then retain the anonymised data to assist with improving the content and services we provide.
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, although whether you will be able to exercise data subject rights in a particular case may depend 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.
You have the right at any time to require us to stop using your personal information for direct marketing purposes. In addition, 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.
Please note that the right to object to the processing of personal data does not apply where the data subject has consented to the processing, subject to the right to withdraw consent.
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.
Where we use your personal information with your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time and we will stop using your personal information for the purposes for which consent was given.
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 7 November 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
Telephone: 0131 348 6913
(Calls are welcome through the Text Relay service or in British Sign Language through contactSCOTLAND-BSL.)
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.