Documentation about the arrival of Gazan children to Scotland treated on the NHS: FOI release

Information requested

3. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about the impact of asylum seekers on housing, from the last two months?

4. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about the arrival of Gaza children to Scotland treated on the NHS, in the last three months?

Response

Question 3:

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 an exemption under section 30(b) of FOISA applies to that information.

An exemption under Section 30(b) applies to the information you have requested because the impact that asylum seekers have on the availability of temporary accommodation is still an active area of policy discussion for SG and is therefore a sensitive matter. Therefore, providing a space for Ministers to receive free and frank advice on this topic is important.

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 the items we hold on this are relevant to your initial request and contains important details on a high-profile matter. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in providing Scottish Ministers with the space to receive free and frank advice on this sensitive matter.

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 4:

In response to question 4 of your request, please find attached an annex containing six emails related to the arrival of Gazan children to Scotland. Please also find attached a letter that was sent from the First Minister to Gazan families that arrived in Scotland, with personal information redacted.

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 sections 28(1), 30(b), and 30(c) of FOISA applies to that information.

Exemptions under sections 28(1), 30(b), and 30(c) of FOISA applies to some of the information you requested because the arrival of Gazan children is still an active area of discussion for SG and is therefore a sensitive matter. Therefore, providing a space for Ministers to receive free and frank advice on this topic is important. Additionally, some of the information contained in our searches was sensitive briefings from the UK Government. Given the sensitivity of this matter, releasing such information carries significant risk of the Scottish Government being excluded from information sharing in the future. Finally, one of our documents contained information on the processes for booking flights for the Gazan arrivals. There is significant risk that releasing such sensitive information like this could undermine these processes and the arrangements for any arrivals in the future.

These exemptions are 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 all of these items are relevant to your initial request and contains important details on a high-profile matter. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in providing Scottish Ministers with the space to receive free and frank advice on this sensitive matter, as well as deliberate with their UK Government counterparts. There is also public interest in protecting the logistical processes in this matter so that Gazan arrivals are able to arrive safely into Scotland.

Our searches for this request also returned some items that outlined the Scottish Government’s position on the arrival of Gazan children and our correspondence lines. The Scottish Government has been pleased to welcome child patients and their families from Gaza, and we have committed to supporting the treatment of up to 20 children. This is a small step towards restoring some humanity to the catastrophic situation in Gaza as a result of the Israeli Government’s actions. All decisions regarding who needs medical treatment outside of Gaza are taken by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and we are therefore unable to recommend people for medical evacuation. The Scottish Government is working closely with the UK Government to clinically assess each case that is recommended by WHO so that decisions on where people are treated is based on the availability of specialist care.

About FOI

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 202600504827 - Information released - Documents

File type

PDF

File size

336.1 kB