Home Office and Highland Council correspondence regarding Cameron Barracks: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could you supply all minutes/notes from meetings and/or phone calls between the Scottish Government and the Home Office about Cameron Barracks in inverness, from the last three months?

2. Could you supply all correspondence sent between the Scottish Government and the Home Office about Cameron Barracks in inverness, from the last three months?

3. Could you supply all minutes/notes from meetings and/or phone calls between the Scottish Government and Highland Council about Cameron Barracks in inverness, from the last three months?

4. Could you supply all correspondence sent between the Scottish Government and Highland Council about Cameron Barracks in inverness, from the last three months?

Response

Question 1

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, for question one of your request we are unable to provide the information you have requested because exemptions under Section 28 and Section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to that information. This is because Cameron Barracks is currently a sensitive matter, and therefore it is important to ensure that free and frank discussions between Ministers and officials is not prohibited. Additionally, there is a significant risk that releasing such information could damage the Scottish Government’s relationship with the Home Office and result in the Scottish Government being excluded from information sharing in the future.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because of the media interest in Cameron Barracks and asylum policies more generally. However, this is outweighed by the fact that releasing these minutes would damage the Scottish Government’s relationship with the UK Government. This could potentially result in the Scottish Government being excluded from future information sharing at meetings. The significant risk of Scottish Ministers and their officials being excluded from future information sharing would inhibit the provision of free and frank advice to Ministers and impact the effective conduct of public affairs.

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.

Question 2

For question two of your request, I enclose some of the information you have requested. The attached annex contains some correspondence between the Scottish Government and the Home Office on Cameron Barracks.

Some of the information you have requested is available on the Scottish Government website. The Scottish Government has published three letters to the Home Office on Cameron Barracks, two to the Home Secretary and one to the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, which you can view here:

1. Immigration and asylum: Letter to UK Government - gov.scot
2. Accommodation for people seeking asylum: Letter to UK Government - gov.scot
3. https://www.gov.scot/publications/clarification-on-housing-people-seeking-asylum-letter-to-ukgovernment/

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under Section 28 and Section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to that information. This is because Cameron Barracks is currently a sensitive matter, and therefore it is important to ensure that free and frank discussions between Ministers and officials is not prohibited. Additionally, there is a significant risk that releasing such information could damage the Scottish Government’s relationship with the Home Office and result in the Scottish Government being excluded from information sharing in the future.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because of the media interest in Cameron Barracks and asylum policies more generally. However, this is outweighed by the fact that releasing such correspondence would damage the Scottish Government’s relationship with the UK Government. This could potentially result in the Scottish Government being excluded from future information sharing at meetings. The significant risk of Scottish Ministers and their officials being excluded from future information sharing would inhibit the provision of free and frank advice to Ministers and impact the effective conduct of public affairs.

Question 3

For question three of your request, I enclose some of the information you have requested. Attached is an official note from a meeting between the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Highland Council on 03 November.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under Section 28 and Section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to that information. This is because Cameron Barracks is currently a sensitive matter, and therefore it is important to ensure that free and frank discussions between Ministers and officials is not prohibited. Additionally, there is a significant risk that releasing such information could damage the Scottish Government’s relationship with both Highland Council and the Home Office due to the sensitive nature of such discussions on Cameron Barracks. This would likely result in the Scottish Government being excluded from information sharing in the future.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because of the media interest in Cameron Barracks and asylum policies more generally. However, this is outweighed by the fact that releasing these minutes would damage the Scottish Government’s relationship with Highland Council, as well as the UK Government. This could potentially result in the Scottish Government being excluded from future information sharing at meetings. The significant risk of Scottish Ministers and their officials being excluded from future information sharing would inhibit the provision of free and frank advice to Ministers and impact the effective conduct of public affairs.

Question 4

For question four of your request, I enclose some of the information you have requested. The attached annex contains some correspondence between the Scottish Government and Highland Council on Cameron Barracks. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, for this question we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under Section 28 and Section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to that information. This is because Cameron Barracks is currently a sensitive matter, and therefore it is important to ensure that free and frank discussions between Ministers and officials is not prohibited. Additionally, there is a significant risk that releasing such information could damage the Scottish Government’s relationship with both Highland Council and the Home Office due to the sensitive nature of such discussions on Cameron Barracks. This would likely result in the Scottish Government being excluded from information sharing in the future.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because of the media interest in Cameron Barracks and asylum policies more generally. However, this is outweighed by the fact that releasing such correspondence would damage the Scottish Government’s relationship with Highland Council, as well as the UK Government. This could potentially result in the Scottish Government being excluded from future information sharing at meetings. The significant risk of Scottish Ministers and their officials being excluded from future information sharing would inhibit the provision of free and frank advice to Ministers and impact the effective conduct of public affairs.

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FOI 202500492483 - Information released - Annex

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153.0 kB

FOI 202500492483 - Information released - Official Note

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