Some of the language used in privacy notices can be specialised. The Information Commissioner's website provides a useful introduction to key terms and concepts.
We will process your personal information for the purposes of:
Personal data will be stored securely on the Parliament's IT systems.
Normal category data such as your name, email address and telephone number.
We also ask for *special category data, specifically information about whether additional support is required for the purposes of making reasonable adjustments to facilitate your participation in an interview and, if your application is successful, for the purposes of facilitating your engagement in the Academic Fellowship Scheme.
*Special category personal data consists of information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purposes of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.
Personal data will be provided directly by you (the data subject) by way of an application form to participate in specific projects or submission of a speculative application as a Research Fellow.
Personal data may also be provided by your employer on your behalf.
Data protection law states that we must have a legal basis for handling your personal data.
The processing of personal data for the purposes of recruitment is necessary for the legitimate interests of the SPCB (Article 6(1)(f) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)), to select a suitable candidate to participate in the Academic Fellowship Scheme.
The legal basis for processing special category data with a view to making reasonable adjustments is that it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest to comply with our legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR, section 10(3) and paragraph 6(1) of Part 2, to Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)).
Where an offer to join the Academic Fellowship Scheme is made, the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract in terms of (Article 6(1)(b) of the UK GDPR).
We may share your personal information with the following third parties if this is necessary by law; necessary to carry out our contract or administer a working relationship with you; or where it is necessary to protect your vital interests or those of another person:
Personal details in relation to applications to the Academic Fellowship Scheme will be retained for up to six months after the end of the financial year in which your Fellowship ended.
Data protection law 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.
For example, the right to object to the processing of personal data does not apply where personal data is processed for the purpose of the performance of a contract.
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'.
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.
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. The right might also apply where there is no longer a basis for using your personal information, but you do not 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.
Please contact us in any of the ways set out in the contact information and further advice sections below if you wish to exercise any of these rights.
Where we rely on legitimate interests as the legal basis for processing your personal information you have the right to object to processing of your personal information. In these circumstances we will stop using your personal information unless there are overriding legitimate grounds to continue.
You have the right to ask us to delete personal information about you where:
In line with the principles underlying the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2014), published by the Scottish Government, our staff may report a concern to the relevant authorities if they come across an issue in the course of their work which causes them to think that a child may be at risk of abuse or harm.
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 17 April 2025.
We seek to resolve directly all complaints about how we handle personal information but you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office online at: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.
Or by phone at: 0303 123 1113
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 5281
(Calls are welcome through the Text Relay service or in British Sign Language through contactSCOTLAND-BSL.)
Email: dataprotection@parliament.scot
Please contact us if you require information in another language or format