Dear Sir/Madam,

On 25 September 2008, Caroline Jackson, Facilities and Contracts Manager for Education and Lifelong Learning, wrote to parents and carers regarding the introduction of a new cashless catering system for secondary school pupils.

The letter stated that "It is very important that your child has a Young Scot card as this will be the only way that they will be able to pay for their food purchases". This directly contradicts an answer given by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, John Swinney, in the Scottish Parliament [1].

Accordingly, please tell me:

1) whether any legal advice was taken before deciding to implement this system;
2) whether a privacy impact assessment has been conducted; and
3) whether the Information Commissioner's Office was consulted.

I should also be grateful if you would also furnish me with 4) a copy of any information provided to parents about this scheme.

The requirement that pupils should have a Young Scot card means that they will have to provide personal data to be uploaded to a government database. I should therefore be grateful if you would tell me 5) the minimum amount of personal data that a pupil may provide to successfully apply for that card, and provide me with 6) a comprehensive list of every person and/or agency that may then obtain access to that data.

Sincerely,

Dr. Geraint Bevan

NO2ID Scotland

[1] http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/busine...

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any local authorities or individual schools have made it compulsory for students to use a Scottish national entitlement card to access school meals.

(S3W-13320)

John Swinney: The national entitlement card is not compulsory.

Local authorities and schools who use the card to access school meals must also provide an alternative method to access the service for those students who do not wish to carry a card. Alternatives include the use of a PIN number, use of name, class, etc.

Dear Doreen,

I am just writing to ask if you have an estimate of the date when it will be possible to provide me with a substantive response to my request regarding the privacy impact of introducing smartcards in schools.

Sincerely,

Geraint

Dear Doreen,

Has there been any word yet on when the relevant department will be able to answer my request about the introduction of a cashless payment system for school meals?

Sincerely,

Geraint

Dear Doreen,

many thanks to you and John.

Best regards,

Geraint