Staff guidance and training (2023)
File Ref: F23546
Date of Response: 25/10/2023
Request
1) Since 1 March 2022 has the House of Commons issued new employees and or existing employees with written advice and or guidance about microaggressions and or unconscious bias in the workplace. This advice will include but will not be limited to
a. definitions and explanations of microaggressions and unconscious bias.
b. examples of the kind of microaggressions and unconscious bias which can occur in the workplace.
c. an explanation of the negative impact microaggressions and unconscious bias can have in the workplace.
d. information about what can be done to highlight, challenge and tackle microaggressions and unconscious bias in the workplace.
If the answer to this question is yes, can you, please provide copies of any written advice and guidance issued to staff. Please note I am interested in all relevant information issued to staff between 1 January 2022 and the present day even if that information and guidance was created before 2022.
2) Between 1 March 2022 and the present day did the House of Commons post any information on its intranet for employees which was designed to help new employees and or existing employees identify and or better understand and or deal with the challenges posed by microaggressions and or unconscious bias in the workplace. If the answer is yes, can you, please provide copies of the information posted on the intranet. Please note I am interested in all relevant information which was on the intranet during the aforementioned period even if the information was created prior to that date.
3) Since 1 March 2022 has the House of Commons run any online or in person workshops and/or training courses and or seminars for new and or existing employees. Please note I am only interested in those online and or in person workshops and training courses and seminars which are about and or which include information about microaggressions and unconscious bias. I am interested irrespective of whether these online courses and or workshops and or seminars were organised inhouse and or whether they were run or provided by a third-party external training organisation.
In the case of each online and or in person training course and or workshop or seminar can you provide
a. the relevant title and theme
b. when it took place
c. how many new and or existing employees have taken part.
d. copies of any information distributed to employees who took part.
Do not provide any information where the copyright for that information is held by an external training provider.
- This information is not held by the House of Commons. The House has not issued new or existing employees with advice/guidance on these topics in the time period specified.
- This information is not held by the House of Commons. In the time period specified, the House did not post any information on the parliamentary intranet regarding these topics.
- We have interpreted “copies of any information distributed to employees who took part” in this instance to mean information distributed to employees undergoing training which include information on microaggressions and/or unconscious bias in some way.
This information is held by the House of Commons. We hold details of workshops and training courses for the period specified which were about or included information on microaggressions and unconscious bias (csv, 5KB).
We also hold copies of self-guided learning and welcome packs distributed to employees who took part in our Inclusive Leadership course. While we hold this information however, it contains key details on the content of this course and its release would therefore be prejudicial to the commercial interests of our third-party supplier who provide this course as well as the House itself. It is therefore exempt from disclosure in accordance with section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). This is a qualified or non-absolute exemption and the public interest test is detailed below.
We have considered the public interest in the disclosure of this information. There is a public interest in ensuring that access to information on the House’s processes, including internally-run courses, is open, honest and transparent. As the House is financed by the public purse, there is a public interest in allowing the public to not only understand details of courses run to both staff of the House as well as MPs, but to also ensure accountability for expenditure incurred by the House as a result of paying for these. Disclosing this information would therefore allow the public to scrutinise the content of this information to determine whether it was relevant, appropriate and beneficial for staff and Members, and by extension whether the course supplied was cost-effective and achieved value for money.
We have also considered the public interest in withholding this information. Firstly, the release of this information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of our third-party supplier. The self-guided learning and welcome pack contain key details on the course provided by our supplier, and freely releasing this information would significantly harm their ability to generate revenue from this course as a result. Given the specialised nature of this course, releasing this information would also give their competitors a significant advantage against them as they could use this same information for their own benefit. In both instances, this would significantly reduce the ability of our supplier to make sales and earn revenue from this course as a result, thereby harming their commercial revenue and prejudicing their commercial interests as a result. Furthermore, releasing this information would also prejudice the commercial interests of the House. If the House caused financial disadvantage to suppliers through the release of this information, this would in turn undermine our commercial standing and reputation. In particular, third-parties would be more reluctant to enter into free and frank negotiations with us, which would in turn likely narrow the number of companies willing to supply courses to the House. With fewer companies willing to supply courses, particularly in a specialist market, this would in turn significantly weaken our negotiating position to achieve the best possible rates and achieve value for money, prejudicing our commercial interests as a result.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance on Section 43 states that there is a “a public interest in public authorities not being disadvantaged by their FOIA obligations when in commercial negotiations with the private sector.” For these reasons we have concluded that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosure.