Scottish Government People's Panel 2026 to 2027: privacy notice

The Scottish Government People’s Panel 2026 to 2027 is led by researchers in the Central Analysis Division in the Scottish Government. 

This privacy notice explains what information the Scottish Government will collect from project participants. It explains why we are collecting your information, how we will use it, and how we will keep it safe. It also explains your rights over your information.  

What information we are collecting and why 

The Scottish Government contracted the Sortition Foundation to recruit participants for the project. As part of the recruitment process, the Sortition Foundation collected information from each applicant. 

This includes information classed as ‘personal data’, such as your name and contact details; and information classed as ‘special category data’, such as your age and ethnicity. 

We need to collect this information so that we can recruit a panel of people from different places and backgrounds across Scotland, and with a wide range of different experiences. This will ensure that the panel broadly represents the whole of Scotland.

We will collect information to help us understand how best to support you during your participation in the People’s Panel. For example we will ask you if you have accessibility requirements or support needs. 

We will collect information to ensure that we can reimburse you for your time participating in the panel meetings. 

During the panel meetings we will take notes and use Microsoft Teams to transcribe what participants say in the discussions. 

How we will use your information 

We will use special category information to select people for the panel. 

We will use personal information such as contact details to communicate with the people selected as members of the panel. For example, to invite you to join, to give you information about the panel meetings, to ask what support you need for the meetings, to organise reimbursement and for other communications as required.   

We will use information about your support needs to ensure that you are able to participate fully in the panel meetings. 

We will keep the personal and special category information for people who  are not initially selected to join the panel. This is in case some people drop-out of the panel and we need to invite more people to join. 

How we will look after your information 

Your information will be stored on a secure Scottish Government server. It will only be accessible to researchers in the Scottish Government People's Panel team. The information that you share with us can only be used for the purposes of this research.  

We will keep all your personal and special category data confidential. We will never share your personal or special category information or anything else that could identify you with anyone else.

You will remain anonymous in all and any reports and publications. That means that your name or any other information that could identify you will never be reported. 

The personal and special category data that Scottish Government collects through this project will be deleted within three months of the end of the project. 

If you tell us that you wish to receive further information about the project after this time, or if you give us permission to contact you in relation to future Scottish Government research opportunities, we will retain information to allow us to contact you.  

The lawful basis for collecting and using your information

We can only use your information if you give us permission, this is called consent. If you give consent but change your mind you can ask us to delete your information at any time. You don’t need to have or give a reason and we will delete it as soon as we can.   

The Scottish Government is legally allowed to process information collected in this research because it helps us to undertake our “public task in the public interest”. The relevant legislation is the Scotland Act (1998). 

Policy-related research is a core function of government and this work is therefore a related and foreseeable use of the function or power of the Scottish Government, achievable only through the use of personal data. This is allowed under data protection laws, specifically Article 6(1)(e) of the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR).

Where we are collecting special category data, we ensure that any use of this information is proportionate and necessary for statistical or research purposes under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (article 9 Sections (2)(g) and (j)).

Your rights 

Participation in this research is voluntary and you can stop taking part at any time. 

By law, you have the right to: 

• know how your data is being used – this is done through this privacy notice  
• ask what information we hold relating to you, and request a copy of this  
• correct or update any information we have that is wrong 
• tell us to stop using your data, where we do not have an obligation to process it  
• know we are not using your data to make decisions about individuals

You can read more about your data rights. Please note that these rights are not absolute, and may be subject to exemptions under the Data Protection Act 2018. Where an exemption is applied to a requested right you will be informed of this.  

If you wish to make a rights request, please contact us using the details below.

Contacts for further information 

To contact the Scottish Government team leading on the Peoples Panel, please email: people'spanel@gov.scot 

Complaints  

If you are unhappy with how we have used your data, please contact the Scottish Government’s Data Protection Officer at DataProtectionOfficer@gov.scot. They will look into the concerns you have raised and provide a response. 

Following this, if you still have concerns about how your information is being used, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the supervisory authority responsible for data protection in the UK: Make a complaint | ICO

How to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office

• address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. 
• telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745. 
• website: Information Commissioner's Office