Contents
— Overview
— Tips for preparing your written evidence
— FAQs
FAQs
What will happen to my evidence?
The committee will review your evidence and use it to inform its work. Your name and evidence might be used to highlight an issue in a report or make a recommendation to the Welsh Government, for example.
The evidence will be published on the committee’s webpages, along with your name and/or organisation name.
Written evidence also helps the committee decide who to invite to give oral evidence. You can find out more about oral evidence in our guide for witnesses.
What if I don’t want my name or my evidence to be published?
Committees usually publish all the evidence they receive. This provides transparency about how committees make a decision.
You can ask for it to be anonymous (which means it will be published but without your name), or confidential (which means your evidence will be read but not published).
Why might you not use my evidence?
A committee won’t consider evidence that isn’t relevant to an inquiry. Please ensure you follow the terms of reference in your evidence.
Committees can’t help you with a specific issue or complaint. Contact your local Member of the Senedd if you would like to raise something with them.
Committees are highly unlikely to publish evidence that is defamatory (saying something untrue that could harm a person’s reputation) or talks about court cases that are in progress or imminent.
How will my personal data be handled?
Committees will handle personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. You can find out more about how your data will be used in this Privacy Notice. This notice is subject to periodic review – changes will be announced via the Senedd’s social media channels, so you should check back from time to time.
If you have any questions about how your personal data is handled or how to exercise your rights, you can contact the Data Protection Officer.
The Senedd is subject to access to information legislation and it may be necessary to disclose all or part of the information you provide, even if it has not already been made public. However, the Senedd will only do this if it is required to do so by law.
Is there anything else I need to know?
If you are under 13, you need permission from a parent or guardian before a committee can accept your evidence. This can be in the form of an email.
If you are under 18, your name will not be published alongside your evidence.
You might include information in your evidence that could be used to identify a third party, such as a parent, spouse or relative. In these cases, you will need to confirm that you have their agreement to share information about them and that they understand that it will be published. Depending on the nature of the evidence (for example, if it’s about a medical condition), you may be asked to provide proof that you have their agreement. The committee team will get in touch to discuss this, if necessary.