FOI 25-157 Remuneration and Equality-Related Expenditure
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 25-157 Remuneration and Equality-Related Expenditure
- Request Date
- 01 Apr 2025
- Response Date
- 15 Apr 2025
- Information Requested
I am writing to request the disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (“FOISA”) relating to remuneration, equality-related expenditure, and budgetary context for the most recent full financial year (e.g. 2022/23 or 2023/24, if concluded).
I appreciate that some of the information requested may be recorded across multiple departments or formats. If any clarification or prioritisation is necessary to assist in responding within the statutory cost limits, I would be grateful for early notice in accordance with your duty under section 15 of FOISA (“Duty to Advise and Assist”).
I respectfully request the following:
1. Top Remuneration
Please provide a list of the 10 highest remunerated individuals employed by your organisation. For each individual, please include:
Job title or position (not personal names)
Gross annual salary
Employer pension contributions
Any additional benefits or allowances (e.g. car, housing, relocation)
Performance-related pay or bonus (if applicable)
Total cost to the organisation for that employee (salary + pension + benefits)
If this information is already published (e.g. in annual accounts or a remuneration report), a link or reference to the specific section would be appreciated.
2. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Expenditure
For the same period, please provide the total expenditure incurred for EDI-related activity, including (where available):
Staffing costs for roles wholly or primarily related to EDI (please include job titles and FTE headcount)
External consultants, trainers, or facilitators engaged to deliver EDI programmes
Costs of internal EDI communications, campaigns, or events
Memberships, subscriptions, or benchmarking schemes related to EDI (e.g. Stonewall Diversity Champions)
If figures are not held centrally or itemised in this way, please provide what is reasonably available and explain any limitations.
3. Ancillary Expenditure
Please provide total organisational spending in the following non-core or ancillary categories (if applicable):
Staff engagement activities, including away days, retreats, or team-building events
Payments to external PR, communications, or “reputation management” firms
Costs associated with corporate rebranding (logos, signage, visual identity updates)
Spending on aesthetic or non-essential enhancements to office/premises (e.g. artwork, décor)
Expenditure on environmental/climate sustainability programmes, staff or projects
This information is requested for transparency around wider organisational resource allocation. If estimates or summarised totals are more practical, please indicate accordingly.
4. Budget Pressures and Funding Gaps
Please disclose any formally identified or publicly reported:
Budget deficits, “black holes”, or forecast funding gaps during the financial year
Actions taken or proposed to address shortfalls (e.g. recruitment freezes, service reductions, efficiency savings)
Any overspends, with amounts, departments affected, and mitigation measures
Any additional financial support requested or received from central government or other funding bodies due to budgetary pressures
If this information has been presented in board papers, audit committee minutes, or budget reports, links or attachments to those documents would be acceptable.
Final Notes:
If responding to any part of this request would breach cost limits, I am happy to refine or reduce the scope in consultation with you.
If any requested information is already publicly available, please provide links or directions to access it.
I would prefer the response in a machine-readable format (e.g. Excel, CSV, or searchable PDF).
Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to your response within the statutory 20 working days.- Response
Q1 – The Scottish Ambulance Service has made this information readily available on our website in the published annual accounts and reports - scottish_ambulance_service_-_annual_report_and_accounts_2023-24.pdf
Q2 & Q3 - Public authorities are not required to create information in order to answer a request. There’s a distinction between creating new information, and compiling information. Where a request can be answered by compiling information from readily-available resources held by the public authority, this is not the same as creating new information. However, if collation of the information would require skill and complex judgement, the information is not held.
The Equality, Diversity & Inclusion expenditure and Ancillary expenditure is not held in a way that is easily extractable from the accounts, there is no cost centre or data code that allows us to report on the total costs. It is for this reason that we have applied the exemption Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002 as information not held.
Q4 – Budget pressures and funding gaps are outlined in the Financial Budget Reports held within the board Papers each quarter. Board Papers
