FOI 26-321 SAS use of Kraft HR

Freedom of Information Request

Reference
FOI 26-321 SAS use of Kraft HR
Request Date
20 Jul 2026
Response Date
18 Aug 2026
Information Requested

I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 regarding the Scottish Ambulance Service's use of Kraft-HR. Please provide the following information for the period 1 April 2021 to the date this request is processed:  

  1. The total amount paid by the Scottish Ambulance Service to Kraft-HR in eachfinancial year. 
  2. The number of occasions on which Kraft-HR has been instructed or commissioned by the Scottish Ambulance Service in eachfinancial year. 
  3. A summary of the purpose of each instruction or commission (for example, independent investigations, HR consultancy, mediation, disciplinary support, organisationalreviewsor any other services).  
  4. The number of individual investigations, reviews or pieces of work undertaken by Kraft-HR on behalf of the Scottish Ambulance Service in eachfinancial year. 
  5. Copies of any contracts, framework agreements, service levelagreementsor call-off agreements currently in place between the Scottish Ambulance Service and Kraft-HR, with any commercially sensitive information redacted where appropriate.  
  6. Details of the procurement route used to appoint Kraft-HR, including whether the appointment was made through: a. a competitive tender, b. a framework agreement, c. direct award, or d. another procurement process. 
  7. The names and job titles of the Scottish Ambulance Service departments or directorates that have commissioned work from Kraft-HR during the requested period. 
  8. Any internal guidance, policy or governance documents that set out the circumstances in which external HR consultants or investigators such as Kraft-HR may be appointed. 
  9. If held, the total number of ongoing commissions with Kraft-HR at the date this request is processed. 

 

Where any part of the requested information is considered exempt from disclosure, I would ask that only the exempt information is withheld and that the remainder of the information is provided in accordance with section 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Please specify any exemptions relied upon and explain why they apply. If any part of this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit, I would be grateful if you could advise how the request may be refined so that the maximum amount of information can be provided. 

Response

1. The total amount paid by the Scottish Ambulance Service to Kraft-HR in each financial year.

 

 Please see below the total amount paid per year to Kraft-HR for each year requested.  

2021/22 - £0 

2022/23 - £0 

2023/24 - £0 

2024/25 - £1,726 

2025/26 - £2,949 

2026/27 (to date) - £6,818 

 

 

 

 

2. The number of occasions on which Kraft-HR has been instructed or commissioned by the Scottish Ambulance Service in each financial year.

 

There have been <5 occasions on which Kraft-HR have been commissioned by the Scottish Ambulance Service. 

The figures are too small to break this down by financial year. The disclosure of very small numbers (typically <5 but greater than 0) may increase the risk of individuals being identified when combined with other information that may be available. 

The exact figure is exempt from disclosure under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information), as disclosure could lead to the identification of individuals and would therefore contravene the data protection principles. 

 

3. A summary of the purpose of each instruction or commission (for example, independent investigations, HR consultancy, mediation, disciplinary support, organisational reviews or any other services).

 

Kraft-HR has been engaged with the Service as part of a Test of Change process to assess the use of external provider to undertake investigations for grievances, employee relation cases or mediation on behalf of the Service.  As the figures for the number of commissions are too small to report on, a summary of each case is exempt from disclosure under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information), as disclosure could lead to the identification of individuals and would therefore contravene the data protection principles. 

 

4. The number of individual investigations, reviews or pieces of work undertaken by Kraft-HR on behalf of the Scottish Ambulance Service in each financial year.

 

The figures are too small to break this down by financial year. The disclosure of very small numbers (typically <5 but greater than 0) may increase the risk of individuals being identified when combined with other information that may be available. 

The exact figure is exempt from disclosure under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information), as disclosure could lead to the identification of individuals and would therefore contravene the data protection principles. 

 

5. Copies of any contracts, framework agreements, service level agreements or call-off agreements currently in place between the Scottish Ambulance Service and Kraft-HR, with any commercially sensitive information redacted where appropriate.

 

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold any contracts, framework agreements, service level agreements or call-off agreements with Kraft-HR.  

Kraft-HR has been engaged with the Service as part of a Test of Change process to assess the use of external provider to undertake investigations on behalf of the Service.  The Service approved a procurement waiver for this activity, and each engagement has been commissioned separately through an individual agreement setting out the scope of work and associated financial arrangements.  As each engagement has been governed by its own written agreement with the member of staff involved, the agreements are bespoke and contain personal data relating to identifiable individuals.  Disclosure under Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002 is disclosure to the world at large and would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1)(a) of the UK GDPR.  It is for this reason we have applied section 38(1)(b) of FOISA to these agreements. 

 

6. Details of the procurement route used to appoint Kraft-HR, including whether the appointment was made through: a. a competitive tender, b. a framework agreement, c. direct award, or d. another procurement process.

 

As detailed above, the Scottish Ambulance Service approved a procurement waiver for Kraft-HR, instead, a Direct Award was awarded.  This is when the Scottish Ambulance Service and or other public sector bodies enter into an agreement with a supplier / provider without carrying out a wider competitive tendering procedure. 

 

7. The names and job titles of the Scottish Ambulance Service departments or directorates that have commissioned work from Kraft-HR during the requested period.

 

These have been commissioned by Directors in both Regional and National Operations. 

 

8. Any internal guidance, policy or governance documents that set out the circumstances in which external HR consultants or investigators such as Kraft-HR may be appointed

 

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold any governance documents that sets out circumstances in which HR Consultants or investigators can be appointed. 

 

9. If held, the total number of ongoing commissions with Kraft-HR at the date this request is processed.

 

The number of on-going commissions are too small to report on.  The disclosure of very small numbers (typically <5 but greater than 0) may increase the risk of individuals being identified when combined with other information that may be available. 

The exact figure is exempt from disclosure under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information), as disclosure could lead to the identification of individuals and would therefore contravene the data protection principles. 

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