Asylum seekers & illegal migrants housed in Aberdeen: FOI release

Information requested

The amount of people asylum seekers & illegal migrants (economical) who have been put in Aberdeen. I am looking for actual numbers of people who are tagging onto public services.

Response

The answer to part of your question is that the Scottish Government is aware that 96 people were being accommodated by the Home Office in Aberdeen as of August 2022. This relates to people seeking asylum, who are entitled to accommodation and asylum support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, if they would otherwise be destitute while awaiting a decision on their asylum application from the UK Government.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. This is because no information is held by the Scottish Government relating to “illegal migrants (economical)” or in relation to the asylum or immigration status of individuals accessing public services in Aberdeen.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

However, as asylum and immigration are reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office, you may wish to contact the Home Office at foirequests@homeoffice.gov.uk to find out whether there is further information which they would be able to provide in relation to your request. You may also find information which has already been published under previous information requests, as part of statistical releases, or otherwise made available on the UK Government website: Home Office - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.