HM Fire Service Inspectorate information on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity staff training: FOI release

Information requested

1) The number of roles across all components of your operations, directorates and management structures, expressed in numbers of full-time employees (FTE), that are mainly or exclusively focussed on issues of equality, diversity, or inclusivity. This information should encompass all roles based in central offices, as well as those based around the country.

Roles meeting this description could include (amongst other guises) “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer” (EDI) or “Diversity and Inclusion Project Managers”. Please break down, if possible, the number of roles per component part of your operations.

For all roles meeting this description, please also provide, in order of preference, either a) the salary of these roles, b) the pay band of these roles, or c) the combined total salary of these roles. Please provide the information that is most in accordance with your data processing practices.

Please also advise if there are any plans to hire further staff in these areas within the next 18 months, and the roles/pay bands that they are likely to occupy.

2) With the same criteria as above, please provide the number of internal training courses attended by staff which pertain to the issues encompassed by equality, diversity or inclusivity. Please include the name of the courses, the number of attendees, and the duration of the course.

3) Please, if possible, provide details of any internal EDI practices and networks, including the number of individuals who are members of such networks.

4) Please provide details of any external contractors brought in by the department to conduct training, advice, or guidance on issues relating to EDI. Where applicable this should include costs and associated manhours.

5) Please provide details of how equality, diversity and inclusivity is included in your procurement practices, the relative weight afforded to these considerations, and the current value of contracts in which EDI considerations was a part of the procurement process.

Response

1) Equality, diversity, or inclusivity posts
There are no posts in HMFSI that are mainly or exclusively focussed on issues of equality, diversity, or inclusivity. There are no plans to hire staff in these areas within the next 18 months.

2) Training courses
HMFSI participates in Scottish Government produced annual diversity and inclusion e-learning (nominal 30 minutes) and while aspects of equality, diversity and inclusivity may well impinge on or be part of other training and development activities, we have not run any internal training courses in recent years dedicated to equality, diversity or inclusivity.

3) EDI practices and networks
HMFSI comprises a very small team and there are no internal EDI practices and networks.

4) External contractors
HMFSI is concluding a thematic inspection on organisational culture in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Equality, diversity and inclusivity are subjects that might be touched upon in the inspection. There are two individuals from outwith HMFSI who have offered their services for quality assurance and academic rigour to the inspection process on a pro bono basis.

Details are available on the HMFSI website at Thematic inspections | HM Fire Service Inspectorate in Scotland. These individuals might fall within the scope of ‘external contractors’.

Other than the above, no external contractors have been brought in to conduct training, advice, or guidance on issues relating to EDI in recent years.

5) Equality, diversity and inclusivity in the procurement process
Procurement for HMFSI is administered by the Scottish Government. We therefore do not hold this requested information.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.