According to the Groan, the Longitudinal Study is to delve deeper into participants’ private details:
More than 100,000 people, including children as young as 10, will be asked to provide saliva tests and DNA samples in a new annual survey of the lives, behaviour and beliefs of people in the United Kingdom.
The UK Household Longitudinal Study will replace the long-running British Household Panel Survey. It will be the most expensive and ambitious survey of its kind in the world, costing an initial £15m and covering 40,000 households.
Liberty are expressing concern; quite rightly:
‘I would not let my DNA details be taken in this way,’ said Richard Clayton, the barrister representing the rights group Liberty in its fight to prevent police from keeping DNA samples of suspects later cleared of wrongdoing.
Me neither – but, let’s be absolutely clear here; participation in this study, as with the house condition survey is voluntary. This is why I’m not getting too incensed about it. After all, I, for one, if asked, will refuse. That, then, will be the end of the matter.
That said, people can be pretty ill-informed when faced with those they deem to be in authority and will comply because they think that they are required to do so. Therefore, Richard Clayton’s concerns have merit and are well worth reiterating here:
My principal concern would be how clearly people are informed that their involvement in this study is voluntary and that, even if people do agree to take part, they are absolutely clear about the extraordinary amount of personal information that can be gleaned from such samples.
Hopefully, enough people will refuse in order to send a message to those who seek such information, but I’m not over optimistic.
I always thought longitudinal study meant reading whilst lying down.
DNA, eh? This will be most, most amusing.
The usual estimates of the number of children who are not of the fathers they think they are is some 10%.
Wonder who will be allowed to see the results of the DNA?