FOI 25-094 Volunteer Responders Report Query

Freedom of Information Request

Reference
FOI 25-094 Volunteer Responders Report Query
Request Date
21 Feb 2025
Response Date
27 Feb 2025
Information Requested

I would like to make a Freedom of Information request concerning the Scottish Ambulance Service: Independent Review of Volunteer Delivered Services (attached). 

 

On page 7 of the document, it states: "Out of scope of this initial work were: [...] Retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders." 

 
By way of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, I would like to request the following: 

  1. any and all correspondence and briefing notes concerning the scope of this review (including any attachments/appendixes to these).
  2. a list of the reasons for why "retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders" were not included in the scope of the review.
  3. the date on which it was decided to exclude "retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders" from the scope of the review.
  4. the name and position of the person who reached the decision to exclude "retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders" from the scope of the review.
  5. has any review been carried out into "retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders"? If so, please provide a copy of any report and/or briefing paper on this.
Response
  1. any and all correspondence and briefing notes concerning the scope of this review (including any attachments/appendixes to these).

We have considered all the relevant emails within your request and have applied section 38(1b) as personal information and section 25 as already available of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.  All relevant information has been captured within the report and the executive summary available on the website - Microsoft Word - 2025-01-31 Volunteer Delivered Services Report 

 

  1. a list of the reasons for why "retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders" were not included in the scope of the review.

The Scottish Ambulance Service is engaged with Orkney Council and Orkney’s Community Planning Partnership. The dialogue that had taken place with them at the time was predominantly about the risk the focus could move to how volunteers are engaged, rather than their vital role. There also remained the actions that the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) had committed to explore, and the Scottish Ambulance Service did not want the CPP to feel that they could not take forward the actions due to the review being underway.     

 

  1. the date on which it was decided to exclude "retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders" from the scope of the review.

This was decided at the outset of the review in June 2024. 

 

  1. the name and position of the person who reached the decision to exclude "retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders" from the scope of the review.

The review was commissioned by Michael Dickson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service who reached this decision after discussions with Orkney Council and Orkney’s Community Planning Partnership. 

 

  1. has any review been carried out into "retained volunteers and Island Emergency Responders"? If so, please provide a copy of any report and/or briefing paper on this. 

The Scottish Ambulance Service is aware the Orkney Community Planning Partnership and Orkney Island Council carried out an initial data gathering exercise approximately 2.5years ago, beyond this we are not aware of any particular review being carried out.  

In This Section