'School sex survey' data deleted by Scottish Government and researchers

Researchers who received the data from the 2021/22 health and wellbeing census have also destroyed the information.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has now admitted the government “needs to do better” in handling data gathered from school pupils, after announcing the census would be paused in February last year.

Pupils in around half of Scotland’s local authority areas took part in the survey, which covered a range of topics including mental and physical health, diet and exercise, bullying, and schoolwork pressures.

Those in S4 were also asked questions on contraception and sexual relationships, including if they had sex and how they were when they first had sex, how many people they had had sex with in the past 12 months, and whether they had used a condom.

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At the time opposition parties in Holyrood criticised the SNP government for this, saying children as young as 14 were being asked “intrusive and inappropriate” questions.

Concerns were also raised at reports the data was being advertised for use by external researchers.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon said her government had a “serious responsibility” to ensure public services were informed by lived experience, and said it was vital “to properly understand the reality that young people face and provide them with the guidance, the advice, and the services they need to make safe, healthy and positive decisions”.

However the Mail on Sunday now reports the data has been deleted by both “internal and external” users.

The move was confirmed by the education secretary in a statement to independent MSP Jeremy Balfour.

Mr Balfour, who left the Scottish Conservatives last summer, said: “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 spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government recognises the concerns that parents and carers had about the health and wellbeing census which was run in 2021/22, and will not repeat it in this format going forward.

“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.”

The spokeswoman added that an oversight board will now consider the situation and the chief statistician will provide an update shortly.