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   HebrideanHecate (hebrideanhecate@spinster.xyz)'s status on Thursday, 06-Feb-2025 23:18:28 JST HebrideanHecate

   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98ym82nd81o

   The Scottish government "need to do better" in how sensitive information is gathered from schoolchildren after access to a controversial census on sexual experiences was halted.

   Education secretary Jenny Gilruth told MSPs she would be raising concerns with officials after BBC Scotland News found data from the 2021 health and wellbeing survey was being advertised for use by external researchers.

   Conservative MSP Meghan Gallacher had raised the issue as an urgent question at Holyrood on Wednesday.

   She said the census had involved children as young as 14 being asked "highly intrusive and inappropriate questions" about sexual experiences.

   Gallacher claimed parents were not informed of the details of the survey because an "opt-out" model had been used.

   Half of Scotland's 32 councils pulled out of the survey following concerns about a lack of informed consent and worries over the anonymity for pupils.