Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
We can confirm that Essex County Fire & Rescue Service does hold the information you have requested.
Please see below the answer to your request.
Questions and final response:
Question 1 – How many staff (as measured by full-time equivalents) do you employ to work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
For the current financial year 2022/23, we employ two full time equivalent staff in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion department.
Question 2 – What was your spending on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) for the financial year 2021/22 and what is the budget for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the current financial year?
Spending for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion for financial year 2021/22 was £116,601.98 this figure includes staffing costs. Budget for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion for financial year 2022/23 is £142,221.53 this figure includes staffing costs.
Question 3 – What was your spending on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) training for the financial year 2021/22 and what is the budget for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training in the current financial year?
Spending for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion training for the financial year 2021/22 was £2445.00.
There is no specific budget for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training, all costs are incorporated within our Learning and Development budget, this budget covers all operational and non-operational training for the entire ECFRS workforce.
Question4 - How many staff working days do you estimate were lost from regular work due to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) training for the financial year 2021/22 and what is your estimate of staff working days that will be lost from regular work due to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training during the current financial year?
281 staff-days were committed in attending Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Training in Financial year 21/22.
These days were a mix of in person and online sessions. The second part of this question – we predict that the figures for the current year will be similar to 21/22.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Training is one of our top ten priorities, to support this, we provide access to a range of regularly updated learning and development content to suit all learning preferences and styles, within our core, personal and professional development provision, this is available to all colleagues and leaders throughout our service.
This is a shared responsibility and is vital that all colleagues feel confident in their skills and knowledge to provide an equal service to our communities to reduce risk and to keep everyone living, working and travelling in Essex safe.