Thank you for your request for information about the following:

I didn't previously ask for Stonewall's feedback on the submission but based on the above ruling, could you please enclose that too? 

Your request was received on 7 September 2023 and I am dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

Response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA does hold the requested information. However, the NHSBSA considers this information exempt from disclosure under Section 43(2) of the FOIA as releasing this information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of NHSBSA.

This exemption is a prejudice based ‘qualified’ exemption and subject to the public interest test. This means that not only does the information have to prejudice one of the purposes listed, but before the information can be withheld, the public interest in preventing that prejudice must outweigh the public interest in disclosure. 

Section 43(2)

Prejudice Test: 

Disclosure of Stonewall’s feedback on our submission would be likely to cause prejudice to the commercial interests of the NHSBSA.

The Workplace Equality Index is a highly competitive process with hundreds of organisations entering to achieve the highest ranking possible. The NHSBSA was ranked 4th in 2023 and sharing the feedback received from Stonewall would provide other organisations with useful insight into the Workplace Index and its scoring, prejudicing the NHSBSA’s ranking in any future submissions. This is because it would enable others to use this information to improve their ranking to the detriment of the NHSBSA.

The NHSBSA values a diverse workforce as this enables us to understand the different needs of our customers. The employment market is highly competitive and prospective employees look at organisations as a whole including their approach to inclusion and how reflective the organisation is of them. The NHSBSA therefore uses ratings and recognition in external initiatives as a key part of our talent acquisition strategy and a reduction in ranking would be likely to have a negative impact on the NHSBSA by prejudicing our ability to create this diverse workforce.

Public Interest Test: 

Considerations in favour of disclosure: 

• The inherent public interest in openness and transparency of public authority dealings. 

• There is public interest in understanding progress that organisations are making towards LGBTQ+ inclusivity. 

• There is public interest in the sharing of good practice around LGBTQ+ initiatives. 

Considerations against disclosure: 

• The Workplace Equality Index forms part of the NHSBSA Diversity and Inclusion and Talent Acquisition Strategies and is an important attraction element for NHSBSA evidencing the inclusive nature of the organisation and therefore attracting a competitive workforce. 

• As NHSBSA are currently 4th place in the Workplace Equality Index 2023, disclosing this information may give other participating organisations an unfair advantage if they are able to view our feedback from Stonewall. This therefore is likely to prejudice the NHSBSA’s competitive nature for future Stonewall Index submissions by placing the NHSBSA at a significant disadvantage against competitors.  

• Promotion of good practice can be achieved in various ways. The NHSBSA works closely with our commercial partners to promote good practice and further LGBTQ+ advocacy. Stonewall shares identified good practice through its account managers which has the desired impact of furthering LGBTQ+ advocacy without impacting on the commercial interests of those who take part.

• The inherent public interest in avoiding prejudice to the commercial interests of the NHSBSA. 

Balance of Public Interest Test:  The NHSBSA recognises that there is a public interest in the disclosure of the information which facilitates the accountability and transparency of public authorities and promotion of LGBTQ+ advocacy; however, there is also a public interest in NHSBSA being able to attract talent within a competitive workforce market. 

Given that the definition of ‘public’ under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is considered to be the public at large, rather than just the individual applicant and that ‘public interest’ is not necessarily the same as what interests the public, it is considered that to release this information into the public domain would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of NHSBSA which is not outweighed by the public interest for disclosure.