Membership of diversity and inclusion employer schemes: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
You asked for the following information for the period 1 April 2023 to the date of our response:
1. Whether Scottish Government is currently, or has been at any time in that period, a member of any Stonewall programme, including Diversity Champions, Proud Employers, or the Proud Employers Accreditation. Please give the programme name(s) and the dates of membership.
2. All payments made to Stonewall Equality Limited in that period, broken down by financial year and by purpose (for example membership fee, accreditation fee, training, events, conferences).
3. Whether Scottish Government submitted an application to the Stonewall Proud Employers Accreditation or the Workplace Equality Index in that period and, if so, the score, level or award received.
4. A copy of any feedback report, score report or written recommendations received from Stonewall in that period.
5. Any document recording a decision, since 16 April 2025, to review, continue, renew or end Scottish Government's membership of any Stonewall programme, including any reference to the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers or to EHRC guidance.
6. Within the payments in question 2, please itemise separately any payment for training, sessions or programmes specifically about trans or non-binary inclusion (for example "Trans Allies", trans
awareness or trans inclusion training), giving the programme name, date and amount.
Response
I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested.
We have interpreted your request for information on payments as relating to employer activities.
Q1. The Scottish Government has been a member of the Stonewall Diversity Champions, now called Proud Employers, since 1 April 2023 to date.
Q2+6. There have been no payment made to Stonewall for training, events or conferences in this period.
Some of the information you requested in relation to membership fees is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202500448728/. Payments since that date are set out in the table
below.
|
Financial Year |
Purpose |
Total |
|
2024/25 |
Stonewall Membership 2025/2026 |
£ 3,090.00 |
|
2025/26 |
Stonewall Membership 2026/2027 |
£ 3,090.00 |
Q3+4. The Scottish Government has not submitted an application to the Stonewall Stonewall Proud Employers Accreditation or the Workplace Equality Index since 1 April 2023.
Q5. Information requested attached.
Some of the information you have requested is available on gov.scot and links are included. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
An exemption under section s.38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested where it provides personal identifiable information of staff below senior civil service grade or a third party.
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG