FOI 26-416 Technician Training

Freedom of Information Request

Reference
FOI 26-416 Technician Training
Request Date
14 Sep 2026
Response Date
09 Oct 2026
Information Requested

Please provide the number of Ambulance Technicians who commenced SAS Technician training in each year from 2010 to the most recent year for which figures are available. 

Where held, please provide these figures broken down by North, East and West Regions. 

 

For the current 2026/27 financial year, please also provide: 

 

  1. The number of Ambulance Technician training places requested or planned for each of North, East and West Regions. 
  1. The number of Ambulance Technician training places approved or commissioned for each Region. 
  1. The number who have commenced, or are currently scheduled to commence, Technician training in each Region. 

 

If the figures are recorded by course or training cohort rather than financial or calendar year, I would be happy to receive the information in the format in which it is held. 

Response

Please provide the number of Ambulance Technicians who commenced SAS Technician training in each year from 2010 to the most recent year for which figures are available.  Where held, please provide these figures broken down by North, East and West Regions. 

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold information dating back to 2010. In 2016, the Service introduced a major revision to the Ambulance Technician training programme and qualification in Scotland, moving from the Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) CertHE Technician programme to the FutureQuals Ambulance Technician programme. Records are only available from this point onwards. 

Information on the number of individuals commencing Ambulance Technician training is available from 2016. A regional breakdown is not held for the period 2016 to 2021. In accordance with section 17(1) of FOISA, the Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold the regional breakdown requested for those years. 

 

The information held is provided below by calendar year: 

 

 

EAST 

NORTH 

WEST 

Total 

2016 

 

 

 

290 

2017 

 

 

 

407 

2018 

 

 

 

250 

2019 

 

 

 

191 

2020 

 

 

 

217 

2021 

 

 

 

395 

2022 

91 

71 

139 

331 

2023 

21 

29 

39 

89 

2024 

* 

28 

* 

42 

2025 

* 

* 

 

11 

2026 

* 

18 

* 

25 

"*" denotes a suppressed value. Small numbers have been withheld under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA to protect personal data. Secondary suppression has also been applied in some instances to prevent suppressed values from being derived from other figures presented in the table. 

 

For the current 2026/27 financial year, please also provide:  The number of Ambulance Technician training places requested or planned for each of North, East and West Regions.  The number of Ambulance Technician training places approved or commissioned for each Region. The number who have commenced, or are currently scheduled to commence, Technician training in each Region. 

Please see the table below with the information requested 

 

Region 

Places Requested / Planned 

Places Approved / Commissioned 

Commenced / Scheduled to Commence 

North 

18 

14 

* 

East 

0 

0 

0 

West 

* 

* 

* 

Total 

20 

22 

27 

Some figures have been suppressed and are shown as "*". The numbers involved are very small and disclosure of the exact figures could lead, either directly or in combination with other information reasonably available, to the identification of individual members of staff. The suppressed information has therefore been withheld under section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 as personal data. Secondary suppression has been applied where necessary to prevent suppressed values from being derived from the totals provided. 

 

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold a single report recording all Technician training activity by financial year. The information above has been extracted from records held by the Education, Professional Development and Practice Department and is provided in the format in which it is held.