Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) equality, diversity and inclusion expenditures: FOI release

Information requested

How much SQA spends on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programmes and training. In particular you requested the following information:

1. When was the EDI department in SQA formed?

2. How many people are employed within this department, and is this a permanent addition to the organisation or a short-life working group?

3. What is the total combined annual salaries and budget for this department?

4. How much has SQA spent annually on EDI training and programmes for staff from 2018 to the present? How much is budgeted in the future?

5. What is SQA’s current funding shortfall overall?

Response

The Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have asked for. SQA is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), established under the Education (Scotland) Act 1996. As a NDPB, SQA is responsible for making its own operational decisions. This includes determining how its departments are structured and how budget is allocated to ensure that it meets its statutory duties. Detailed information on SQA’s individual departments is not routinely reported to the Scottish Government. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the following information you have requested:

1. When was the EDI department in SQA formed?
2. How many people are employed within this department, and is this a permanent addition to the organisation or a short-life working group?
3. What is the total combined annual salaries and budget for this department?
4. How much has SQA spent annually on EDI training and programmes for staff from 2018 to the present? How much is budgeted in the future?

This information can be requested from SQA. You can submit an FOI request to SQA using their online form: https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/5177.html

In answer to your question: what is SQA’s current funding shortfall overall? SQA’s 2024/25 budget has not been finalised. SQA’s budget requirement fluctuates in year due to a number of factors. These include: the number of entries for qualifications and the number of appeals. The Scottish Government closely monitors SQA’s budget requirement and finalises it’s budget in the Spring Budget Revision (SBR) which is usually published at the start of February. In the most recent forecasts from SQA dated October 2024, SQA required a further £28.595m at SBR in addition to the £26.526m allocated in the 2024/25 Scottish Budget at the start of the financial year.

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.