The Local Government Measure (Wales) 2011 places a duty on each local authority in Wales to conduct a survey of candidates and elected councillors during each ordinary local election.
The regulations set out a prescribed set of questions that include questions about a candidate's demographic profile (gender, age, ethnicity etc.), health, qualifications, employment and previous work as a councillor. The survey is anonymous and candidates are not required to respond.
The Local Government Data Unit ~ Wales (Data Unit Wales) has been contracted to conduct the survey on behalf of local authorities in Wales. They will collect the data on behalf of the local authority and return it to Welsh Government as required by the regulations.
Some elements of the candidate's nomination information will be shared between the local authority and the Data Unit Wales to determine each candidate's status following the election. This information will not be stored with the survey responses and will not be shared with the Welsh Government. It will not form part of the dataset for analysis or reporting.
All data collected and shared for the survey will be dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act and will be used solely for the purposes of the local election candidates survey. Local authorities have signed data sharing agreements with the Data Unit Wales detailing this process.
The information provided in the survey will be used for research purposes only. It will not be used in a manner which would allow identification of individual responses. Aggregate data will be reported at a local authority and Wales level, using broad categories (e.g. male/female, elected/unelected).