Data sharing of Personal Data with the UK Home Office for Immigration Purposes

15265

25/05/2021

FOI

I am writing to request information (under the Freedom of Information Act 2000) regarding data sharing of personal data between your agency and the UK Home Office during the period of 25 May 2018 to the present. More specifically, I would be interested in:
1.      Whether your agency has entered any formal agreements or memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the UK Home Office governing the circumstances in which you would share personal data of individuals for immigration enforcement? If so, please provide a copy of the agreement or MOU.
2.      Whether your agency has an internal policy or guidelines outlining the duties of your agency regarding data sharing with the UK Home Office, and the processes for responding to a request from the UK Home Office to share personal data that you hold. If so, please share the policy document or guidelines.
3.      Has your agency ever shared personal data of individuals with the UK Home Office? If so, please indicate the number of incidents, and whether data sharing occurred with or without individual consent, divided if possible into calendar or fiscal years?
4.      Has your agency ever shared personal data of individuals with the UK Home Office for immigration purposes? If so, please indicate the number of incidents, and whether data sharing occurred with or without individual consent, divided if possible into calendar or fiscal years?
5.      Has the Home Office ever requested data on an individual or on an individual's immigration status, or about your work with specific groups of individuals, for immigration enforcement purposes. from your agency? If so:

a.      How many times has the Home Office requested this type of information?
b.      Have you complied with the requests? If so, how many times? If not, could you state the reasons?
c.      Do you have a policy document or guidelines outlining your legal duties and the relevant process for responding to such requests (if different from the one requested above, please provide a copy of this document)
d.      Please share the document/file/email containing the request from the Home Office. If that is not possible, please state the type of information requested and any subsequent actions expected from your staff?

6.      Have you discussed within the agency the possibility of a UK Home Office request for personal data of individuals for purposes of immigration enforcement, the duties of staff in sharing/providing data to such a UK Home Office request and/or complying with relevant requests? If so, please share the minutes, email correspondence, notes, documents or other relevant information linked to these discussions.

I would be interested in all relevant information held by your agency regarding my request, including, but not limited to, relevant minutes, notes and email correspondence between your organisation and the UK Home Office and/or between other relevant parties. I understand that it is the organisation's responsibility to share relevant files or documents and provide relevant information. In case your organisation is not the appropriate recipient of this letter, could you please indicate the appropriate body?

1.    SBC has not entered any formal agreements or memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the UK Home Office governing the circumstances in which it would share personal data of individuals for immigration enforcement.

2.      No specific internal policy exists regarding data sharing with the UK Home Office. Scottish Borders Council has a generic Data Sharing Code of Practice.

3.   Only one area of activity has been identified as involving information exchange with the Home Office. Scottish Borders Council provides information to the Home Office under the terms of a Local Authority Funding Instruction under with the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (Syria). Information is provided to local authorities which enables families to be matched to the receiving local authority area. There is then a periodic requirement for the local authority (including Scottish Borders Council) to provide information on the resettlement of the families concerned.
We are required to report any significant incident involving a family or one of its members, such as a crime or fatality. No such reporting has ever been necessary.

4.      No information has been shared for immigration purposes.

5.      The Home Office has never requested data on an individual or on an individual's immigration status, or about your work with specific groups of individuals, for immigration enforcement purposes

6.      No such discussions have been held.

Data sharing of Personal Data with the UK Home Office for Immigration Purposes - Freedom of information requests