Controversial 'sex survey' will now not be issued to West Dunbartonshire pupils

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A controversial survey which quizzes children as young as 14 on their sexual experiences will now NOT be issued to pupils in West Dunbartonshire.The Scottish Government questionnaire for S4 to S6 pupils has been under intense scrutiny after it emerged questions probed how many sexual partners participants have had and what types of intercourse they have engaged in.West Dunbartonshire Council previously said officers were reviewing the contents but councillors agreed to reject it outright at a recent meeting.They join at least another eight Scottish councils which have also decided not to issue it.The decision followed a motion tabled by Labour Councillor Douglas McAllister who said the survey was overly intrusive and unsuitable for children.Speaking at a council meeting, he said: “Children as young as 14 should not be asked such sexually explicit questions.“My personal view is that the nature of such questions creates a culture of normalisation.“Such ideas and behaviours presented to 14 year old children somehow creates the impression that it is the social norm for children two years below the legal age of consent to behave in such a way.”Councillor Caroline McAllister, of the Alba Party, agreed and said there were also issues around privacy and confidentiality of data.She submitted an addendum to the motion, which the Labour councillor accepted.It read: “Young people are presently compelled to enter their pupil’s Scottish candidate number allowing them to be personally identifiable.“Council is concerned that the survey’s publicly available privacy notice states information may be shared with unnamed third parties for unspecified purposes.