FOI/202500479408 · FOI · partially withheld
Immigration White Paper Response: FOI release
Information requested
1. All correspondence from Scottish Ministers relating to the development of the Scottish Government’s response to the UK Government’s Immigration White Paper which was published on 30 July 2025. Please provide all emails, meetings (and notes/minutes of those meetings), instant messages or letters that discuss the Scottish Government’s response to the Immigration White Paper since 1 March 2025 until 30 July 2025.
2. Any proposals from Scottish Ministers for inclusion in the Scottish Government’s response to the UK Government’s Immigration White Paper that were not included in the final version that was published on 30 July 2025. Please provide all emails, meetings (and notes/minutes of those meetings), instant messages or letters that outline proposals from Scottish Ministers for the Scottish Government’s response to the Immigration White Paper since 1 March 2025 until 30 July 2025.
3. The cost of developing the Scottish Government’s response to the UK Government’s Immigration White Paper. Please break this cost down by estimated staff work time, any bespoke research that was commissioned for it etc.
Response
The Scottish Government was invited by the UK Government's Home Office to contribute proposals for inclusion in the White Paper on February 28, with a deadline of 14 March set for responses. The Scottish Government published our response to this request on 30 July.
In relation to part three of your request, the Migration Strategy Team, within the Scottish Government, is responsible for work relating to the Scottish Government's strategic approach to migration. During the period covered by this request, this team comprised five full time officials who performed a range of functions relating to our response to the UK Government's Immigration White Paper. Officials carry out a broad range of duties above and beyond this work and there is no business requirement for officials to record the time spent on specific tasks or their work more generally. This work was completed as part of normal duties along with other tasks appropriate to roles as civil servants. There were no further costs for bespoke work or research commissioned to support this paper, other than the cost of publication, which totalled £702.71.
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. 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), 29(1)(a), 30(b)(i), 30(b)(ii), and 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained below.
Section 28(1) – relations within the UK
An exemption under section 28(1) of FOISA (relations within the UK) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the Scottish Government and the UK Government. It is essential for the effective administration of the UK as a whole that there should be regular, and often private, communications between the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the other devolved administrations. The release of these communications about will mean that the UK Government are likely to be more reluctant to share such information with the Scottish Government in future, which would reduce both the frequency and openness of communications between the Scottish Government and other UK administrations.
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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in maintaining good relations between the Scottish Government and the UK Government, and in protecting the free exchange of information between the administrations to ensure that we keep each other fully and regularly informed about matters of mutual interest, such as migration strategy. There is no public interest in disclosing information when that will damage relationships and disrupt future communications.
Section 29(1)(a) – formulation or development of government policy
An exemption under section 29(1)(a) of FOISA (formulation or development of government policy) applies to some of the information requested because it relates to the development of the Scottish Government’s policy on migration.
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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in high quality policy and decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation and development of policies and decisions. This means that Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications. Their candour in doing so will be affected by their assessment of whether the discussions on migration will be disclosed in the near future, when it may undermine or constrain the Government’s view on that policy while it is still under discussion and development.
Section 30(b)(i) – free and frank provision of advice
An exemption under section 30(b)(i) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to other officials or Ministers before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view. Disclosing the content of free and frank advice on migration will substantially inhibit the provision of such advice in the future, particularly because these discussions are still ongoing and decisions have not been taken.
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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials can provide full and frank advice to other officials as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s policy on migration, until the Government as a whole can adopt a policy that is sound and likely to be effective. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good policy decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers and officials, which in turn will undermine the quality of the policy making process, which would not be in the public interest.
Section 30(b)(ii) – free and frank exchange of views
An exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA (free and frank exchange of views) applies to [some of/all of]* the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. This exemption recognises the need for Ministers and officials to have a private space within which to discuss and explore options, including with external stakeholders, before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view.
Disclosing the content of free and frank discussions on migration will substantially inhibit such discussions in the future, particularly because these discussions are still ongoing and decisions have not been taken, and in many cases these discussions relate to a sensitive issue. Stakeholders will also be reluctant to provide their views fully and frankly if they believe that those views are likely to be made public.
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 a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which to explore and refine the Government’s policy position on migration, until the Government as a whole can adopt a policy that is sound and likely to be effective. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good policy decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between Ministers and officials, which in turn will undermine the quality of the policy making process, which would not be in the public interest.
There is also a greater public interest in allowing Ministers and officials a private space within which to communicate with appropriate external stakeholders as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s policy position on migration. This private space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, so that good policy decisions can be taken based on fully informed advice and evidence, such as that provided by key stakeholders. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between the Scottish Government and these stakeholders, which in turn will undermine the quality of the policy making process, which would not be in the public interest. There is also an important public interest in avoiding the loss of stakeholder confidence in cases where they thought they were providing comments in confidence, which would be inevitable if an individual’s contribution was released against their wishes.
Section 38(1)(b) – applicant has asked for personal data of a third party
An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie names/contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
About FOI
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Detected exemption language
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), 29(1)(a), 30(b)(i), 30(b)(ii), and 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained below. Section 28(1) – relations within the UK An exemption under section 28(1) of FOISA (relations within the UK) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially relations between the Scottish Government and the UK Government. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’.