Scottish Social Attitudes: Privacy notice

The purpose of processing your information

The Scottish Social Attitudes survey is designed to capture a representative picture of the attitudes of the Scottish public towards issues of interest to the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen) and its funders.

This study provides important information about public attitudes across a range of different subjects. It is used by government departments, academics, charities and consultants to understand what the public thinks.

A number of different government departments and public bodies fund the survey by paying to ask questions.

Your personal data will only be used for research and statistical purposes. This means you will never receive any sales or marketing calls as a result of taking part in the survey.

Participation is not a statutory or contractual requirement.

The legal basis for processing

The legal basis for processing the data is ‘legitimate interest’.

The data controller

The Scottish Centre for Social Research is the data controller for the Scottish Social Attitudes survey.

Sharing your personal information

An anonymised version of the data set is provided to funders and archived with the UK Data Service, where it is accessible to people for research purposes. Your answers will not be identifiable in this data.

Data retention period

Your name and contact information will be deleted when the data is published and no later than November 2026.

The rest of the collected survey data will be securely stored for an indefinite period. They are made available for use in scientific studies by researchers, students and others interested in opinion and social attitudes in the UK and other countries.

Contact us

If you have any queries, contact us:

Data Protection Officer
The Scottish Centre for Social Research
Scotiabank House 2nd floor
6 South Charlotte Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4AW

Email: dpo@natcen.ac.uk

Data Protection Officers are responsible for upholding your rights and making sure we process your information correctly.

Concerns about how we are using your information

If you have any concerns about the processing of your information, contact the Data Protection Regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Email: www.ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email

Website: www.ico.org.uk/