Communications between Scottish Government and Stonewall Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

1. Any application you made in 2019 or 2020 to be a “Stonewall Diversity Champion” or to be included on Stonewall’s “Workplace Equality Index,” including any attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal details if necessary.

2. Any feedback you received in 2019 or 2020 from Stonewall in relation to either application or programme.

3. Any other communication you have received from Stonewall in 2019 or 2020 unless privileged or otherwise exempt from disclosure (but if you claim privilege or exemption in relation to any material, please say in broad terms what the material is and the basis on which you claim to be entitled to withhold it)

We asked you if you wished to reduce the scope of your request, and on 24 February 2021 you responded:
'Can you please give me (i) a list of the various business areas in which you have corresponded with Stonewall (just the title of the areas) and (ii) a summary of the business area with the greatest volume of correspondence, up to the spending limit? You seem to be hinting that HR is the area with the greatest correspondence.'

4. Full details of any equality impact assessment you carried out connected with any of these applications (including any equality impact assessment carried out prior to an earlier application of the same kind, if no further assessment was done).

5. Details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall (i) in 2019; (ii) in 2020, whether or not as payment for goods or services.

6. Whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall scheme in the future, and if so which.

Response

1. Any application you made in 2019 or 2020 to be a “Stonewall Diversity Champion” or to be included on Stonewall’s “Workplace Equality Index,” including any attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal details if necessary.

2. Any feedback you received in 2019 or 2020 from Stonewall in relation to either application or programme.

The information you requested in question 1 and 2 is available from MiCase - View Case 83724 (for publication purposes FOI response link provided)

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. This link contains both submissions and feedback for Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index in 2019 and 2020.

3. Any other communication you have received from Stonewall in 2019 or 2020 unless privileged or otherwise exempt from disclosure (but if you claim privilege or exemption in relation to any material, please say in broad terms what the material is and the basis on which you claim to be entitled to withhold it).

An exemption(s) under section(s) 12(1) - Complying will exceed the upper cost limit of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. The upper cost limit is applied when it is established it would take over 40 hours of work or £600 to complete a request. This is due to the amount of correspondence that falls under the scope of the question. Over 600 pieces of correspondence were identified in 2019 and 2020 across various areas. A sample test of 15 emails demonstrated that the amount of time to review and apply appropriate redaction to all emails would exceed the 40 hours of the upper-cost limit.

This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

We asked you if you wished to reduce the scope of your request, and on 24 February 2021 you responded:
'Can you please give me (i) a list of the various business areas in which you have corresponded with Stonewall (just the title of the areas) and (ii) a summary of the business area with the greatest volume of correspondence, up to the spending limit? You seem to be hinting that HR is the area with the greatest correspondence.'

As regards (i), here below is a list of the areas that have had correspondence with Stonewall in 2019 and 2020. As regards (ii), the two business areas with the greatest volume of correspondence are Diversity & Inclusion Unit with around 99 pieces of correspondence and the Covid Public Health Directorate with around 102. 

SG Area

Equality Unit

Public Engagement Unit

Diversity & Inclusion Team

Health and Wellbeing Unit

Maternal Health

Gender Recognition Act 2004

NHS National Services Scotland

Constitution and UK Relations Division

Covid Public Health Directorate

Hate Crime

Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework

Chief Dental Officer

Chief Nursing Officer

Chief Medical Officer

National Records of Scotland

Agricultural and Rural Key Workers

Manufacturing and Industries

Medicines Policy

Health Board Development

Public Sector Equality Duties

Asylum and Refugee

Scottish Government Legal Directorate

Child Protection

Community Safety Unit

Homelessness

Police Division

Mental Health Strategy

Transport Policy Integration

Long Term Conditions

Chief Scientist Office

Skills

Health & Social Care

Social Research Group

Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards)

Livestock and Animal Welfare

Scottish Law Commission

Period Products

Health Board

Civil Partnership Act 2004

Covid 19 Response Division

Information Services Division

Schools – Curriculum

Scottish Council for Development and Industry

Equalities Taskforce

Charities

Building Safer Communities

National Planning Framework

Data Protection

Early Learning and Childcare

Equality Impact Assessment

Fuel Poverty

Improving Outcomes For Looked After Children

Social Justice and Regeneration

Getting it Right for Every Child

Poverty and Equality Division

Child Health

Qualification Assessment & Skills

Alcohol Policy

Sustainable Procurement

Forensic Medical Services Bill

Workforce Practice

Scottish Business Pledge

Qualifications Assessment & Skills

Business Support Unit

Equality & Human Rights Division

4. Full details of any equality impact assessment you carried out connected with any of these applications (including any equality impact assessment carried out prior to an earlier application of the same kind, if no further assessment was done).

No equality impact assessment was needed or carried out for these applications. 

5. Details of the total amount of money you paid to Stonewall (i) in 2019; (ii) in 2020, whether or not as payment for goods or services.

The total of all transactions from Scottish Government to Stonewall Equality Limited between 01/01/2019 and 31/12/2020 amounts to £254,524.

Supplier	Amount	Invoice Date	Description
Stonewall Equality Limited	£23,000	13/02/2019	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£7200	24/04/2019	Stonewall Memberships
Stonewall Equality Limited	£25,000	13/05/2019	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£432	17/06/2019	Network Group Masterclass - 2 Tickets
Stonewall Equality Limited	£25,000	07/08/2019	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£25,000	28/10/2019	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£23,690	18/11/2019	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£23,690	07/01/2020	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£25,000	17/01/2020	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£1512	21/01/2020	Stonewall Workplace Conference - 8 Tickets
Stonewall Equality Limited	£25,000	18/05/2020	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£25,000	31/07/2020	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£25,000	03/08/2020	Grant Funding
Stonewall Equality Limited	£254,524

6. Whether you intend to continue your membership of any Stonewall scheme in the future, and if so which.

We have paid our membership of Stonewall's Diversity Champion programme until 2022 and will review our position when it is time to renew. 

Further correspondence issued on 08.03.2021 confirming correct link to FOI/202000083724:

"Apologies the link for the FOI did not work - this link should work - Stonewall Diversity Champions index: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)"

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