Correspondence relating to housing asylum seekers in Cameron Barracks, Inverness: FOI release

Information requested

1. Correspondence related to the decision to house asylum seekers in Cameron barracks in Inverness.

2. Minutes of meetings where the decision to house asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks in Inverness was discussed.

3. Any documents relating to an assessment of the suitability of Cameron Barracks as a location to house asylum seekers in Inverness including impact of areas such as social cohesion, public services and potential public disorder.

Response

Question 1

For question one of your request, I enclose some of the information you have requested. The attached annex contains some correspondence related to the decision to house asylum seekers in Cameron barracks in Inverness.

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 both Highland Council and 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 this information would damage the Scottish Government’s relationship both Highland Council and 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 2

For question two 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 both Highland Council and 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

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested for question three of your query.

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the Scottish Government is not responsible for the proposals to house asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks, and therefore we hold no information that is assessing the suitability of Cameron Barracks as a location to house asylum seekers.

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

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.

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

FOI 202500492490 - Information released - Annex A

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PDF

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153.0 kB

FOI 202500492490 - Information released - Annex B

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60.8 kB