FOI 26-349 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Training

Freedom of Information Request

Reference
FOI 26-349 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Training
Request Date
07 Aug 2026
Response Date
04 Sep 2026
Information Requested

I request the following information relating to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), anti-racism, allyship, unconscious bias, privilege, and related training provided to Scottish Ambulance Service staff.

 

  1. Please provide: Copies of all current and previous EDI training materials, presentations, e-learning modules, handbooks, guidance documents, videos, facilitator notes and supporting documents used from 1 January 2020 to the present.
  2. Copies of any training specifically referring to: White privilege; Systemic or structural racism; Allyship; Unconscious or implicit bias; Anti-racism; Microaggressions; Critical Race Theory (if referenced); Intersectionality.
  3. Copies of any external reports, research papers, academic sources or guidance relied upon in developing or selecting these materials.
  4. The names of any external organisations, consultants or contractors involved in creating, delivering or reviewing the training, together with the value of any contracts awarded.
  5. Details of the procurement process used to appoint any external training providers.
  6. Whether completion of any EDI or anti-racism training is mandatory, and if so: Which staff groups are required to complete it; The consequences, if any, of non-completion.
  7. Any equality impact assessments, governance papers, board papers or approval documents relating to the introduction or revision of this training.
  8. Any internal evaluations or reviews measuring the effectiveness of the training, including attendee feedback summaries.
  9. Any complaints, concerns or formal grievances received regarding the content of the training since 1 January 2020, together with any investigation outcomes or reports (with personal data redacted where appropriate).
  10. Any guidance issued to trainers regarding discussion of concepts including privilege, race, discrimination, or unconscious bias. T
  11. The total cost of developing, purchasing and delivering EDI-related training between 2020 and the present, broken down by financial year where possible.

If any information is exempt, please provide the remainder of the information and explain the specific exemption(s) relied upon. If this request exceeds the cost limit, I would be grateful if you could advise how it may be refined.

Response

Q1. Please provide: Copies of all current and previous EDI training materials, presentations, e-learning modules, handbooks, guidance documents, videos, facilitator notes and supporting documents used from 1 January 2020 to the present.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has identified the following training and development materials held within scope of your request:

  • Unconscious Bias & You V2.2 June 2023
  • Allyship, Being an Effective Ally / Active Bystander V1.0 November 2023
  • Inclusion Starts with I V2.0 October 2024
  • Active Bystandership: Safe Spaces for Clumsy Conversations V2.0 April 2025
  • Reverse Mentor Programme Training Session

 

Copies of these documents are enclosed where held.

 

In addition, the Scottish Ambulance Service holds a pdf copy of NHS Scotland Turas Equality, Diversity and Inclusion e-learning module. This training is delivered nationally through NHS Scotland systems and is not owned or controlled by the Scottish Ambulance Service.  The enclosed document entitled ‘Once for Scotland Understanding Equality, Diversity and Human Rights’ is held by the Scottish Ambulance Service and is provided in response to your request. The document was produced by NHS Education for Scotland as part of the Once for Scotland statutory learning programme and is not a Scottish Ambulance Service document. Copyright and licensing remain as stated within the document. The material is licensed by NHS Education for Scotland under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.

 

 

Q2 - Copies of any training specifically referring to: White privilege; Systemic or structural racism; Allyship; Unconscious or implicit bias; Anti-racism; Microaggressions; Critical Race Theory (if referenced); Intersectionality.

The documents referenced above cover the topics requested in this question, in particular:

 

Allyship, Being an Effective Ally / Active Bystander – Covers Allyship

Unconscious Bias & You – Covers Unconscious/Implicit Bias

Inclusion Starts with I – Has sections on White Privilege

Both Unconscious Bias & You and Reverse Mentor Programme Training Session – covers microaggressions and Structural/Systemic Barriers

Inclusion Starts with I - Covers Intersectionality

 

We have not identified any training materials held that specifically reference Critical Race Theory.

 

Q3 - Copies of any external reports, research papers, academic sources or guidance relied upon in developing or selecting these materials.

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not contain a consolidated list of all external sources relied upon when developing every training package.  However, where external references are included within the training materials themselves, these will be visible in the copies provided.

 

Q4 - The names of any external organisations, consultants or contractors involved in creating, delivering or reviewing the training, together with the value of any contracts awarded.

The Scottish Ambulance Service holds facilitator guides and speaker noted within the documents provided.

Q6 - Details of the procurement process used to appoint any external training providers.

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not utilise any external training providers, all training is completed in-house.

 

Q7 - Whether completion of any EDI or anti-racism training is mandatory, and if so: Which staff groups are required to complete it; The consequences, if any, of non-completion.

The NHS Scotland Equality, Diversity and Human Rights e-learning module, delivered through the Turas learning platform, forms part of NHS Scotland's Statutory and Mandatory Training requirements and is applicable to all staff groups.

In addition, the Scottish Ambulance Service offers a range of optional learning and development opportunities relating to equality, diversity, inclusion, allyship, unconscious bias and active bystandership.  These sessions are not mandatory.

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold any recorded information specifically setting out consequences relating solely to non-completion of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights training. Completion requirements are managed in line with NHS Scotland Statutory and Mandatory Training arrangements.

Q8 - Any equality impact assessments, governance papers, board papers or approval documents relating to the introduction or revision of this training.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has not identified any recorded equality impact assessments, governance papers, board papers or approval documents relating to the introduction or revision of the NHS Scotland Equality, Diversity and Human Rights e-learning module. The training is developed and delivered nationally through NHS Scotland systems and is not solely owned or controlled by the Scottish Ambulance Service. To the extent that any such records may be held by another NHS Scotland body involved in the development of the training, they are not held by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

 

Q9 - Any internal evaluations or reviews measuring the effectiveness of the training, including attendee feedback summaries.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has not identified any recorded information measuring the effectiveness of the training programmes or any attendee feedback summaries.

 

Q10 - Any complaints, concerns or formal grievances received regarding the content of the training since 1 January 2020, together with any investigation outcomes or reports (with personal data redacted where appropriate).

The Scottish Ambulance Service has not identified any recorded complaints, concerns or formal grievances, investigation reports or outcomes relating to the content of the training materials identified.

 

Q11 - Any guidance issued to trainers regarding discussion of concepts including privilege, race, discrimination, or unconscious bias.

The Scottish Ambulance Service holds facilitator guides, facilitator notes and speaker guidance incorporated within a number of its training packages. These materials contain guidance to facilitators on leading discussions relating to topics including privilege, allyship, race, discrimination, unconscious bias, microaggressions and inclusion. Copies are enclosed as part of the training materials provided.

 

Q12 - The total cost of developing, purchasing and delivering EDI-related training between 2020 and the present, broken down by financial year where possible

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold a dataset which would allow it to identify the total cost of developing, purchasing and delivering all EDI-related training between 2020 and the present.

Where training has been developed internally, extracting and attributing staff costs retrospectively would require the creation of new information rather than the provision of recorded information held by the Service.  It is for this reason we have applied section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002, as information not held.

Response Documents

Inclusion Starts With I FG V3.0 May 2025 (1) (1) (PDF | 2.9MB)

Active Bystander Safe Spaces V2.0 28 04 2025 (1) (1) (PDF | 993KB)

Reverse Mentor Cohort 1 (1) (1) (PDF | 2.4MB)

Allyship, Being An Effective Ally V1.0 Nov 2023 (1) (1) (PDF | 1.5MB)

Unconscious Bias You FG V2.2 June 2023 (1) (1) (PDF | 871KB)

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