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

The request was successful.

To whom it may concern, 

Freedom of Information Request regarding Data sharing of Personal Data with the UK Home Office for Immigration Purposes.

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?

If my request is denied in whole or in part, please justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions and please do release all non-exempt material.

I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request. I look forward to your response within 20 working days as outlined by the statute.

I would like the information to be emailed to me in electronic form. If preferable, you can use this email address: intern5[at]justrightscotland[dot]org[dot]uk.

Thank you for your help.

Kind Regards,
Sophia Simelitidou

Customer Service, West Lothian Council

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West Lothian Council

DATA LABEL: Official (Sensitive)

Information Request
Our Reference: 101007019051

Thank you for your recent request for information which has been logged
and transferred to the appropriate Service Information Liaison Officer
(ILO) who will provide a response within the appropriate timeline shown
below:

Freedom of Information - 20 working days
Environmental Information Requests - 20 working days
Subject Access Requests (Data Protection Act) - 28 calendar days

Should the ILO require further information to process your request then
they will contact you directly. If you require any further assistance then
please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards

Dawn

Customer Service

Tel: 01506 280000
Email: [email address]
Web: www.westlothian.gov.uk

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Privacy information

Information held about you

West Lothian Council will hold all personal information contained in your
request and all personal information needed to answer your request in
accordance with data protection law. It is important that we hold accurate
and up to date information about you in order to respond to your request.
If any of your details have changed, or change in the future, please
ensure that you tell us as soon as possible so that we can update your
records.

How will we use information we hold about you?

We will use your personal information to respond to your request and to
any appeal submitted in relation to your request.

Who we will share your information with?

The council will not share your information with any third party unless
you ask us to do so or we are required to do so by law.

How long do we keep your records?

We will keep personal information relating to your request for a maximum
of six years after your request and any appeal associated with your
request has been answered.

Your rights

If you have any questions or concerns about how your information is used,
please contact the Data Protection Officer. More information about data
protection and how it applies to you, including how to make a complaint,
is available from the [3]Information Commissioner's Office

You have a number of rights under data protection law, including the right
to request your information and to request that the information be amended
if incorrect or, in some circumstances, erased.

To make a request for information, amendment or erasure, you will need to
put your request in writing and provide proof of identification to the
Data Protection Officer, West Lothian Council, West Lothian Civic Centre,
Howden South Road, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 6FF Email:
[4][email address]

show quoted sections

West Lothian Council

21/06/2021

Dear Sophia Simelitidou
Freedom Of Information

Reference no. 101007019051

I refer to your request for information dated 25th of May 2021 relating to data sharing with the Home Office. Please find below our response to your request.

QUESTION 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.
ANSWER 1: The Council has not entered into any formal agreements or memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the UK Home Office governing the circumstances in which the council would share personal data of individuals for immigration enforcement.
However, the council may share data with the Home Office where there is a clear statutory duty for doing so.

QUESTION 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.
ANSWER 2: There is no policy or guidelines outlining the duties of West Lothian Council regarding data sharing or, the process of responding to a data sharing request, that makes specific reference to the UK Home Office. However, the council’s Data Sharing Code of Practice provides general guidance on data sharing. The Code of Practice is available from the council’s web site at the following address:

https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media/159...

QUESTION 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?
ANSWER 3: Yes, on 1 occasion without consent. Details of years provided below:

• Financial year 2020/2021 - 1

QUESTION 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?
ANSWER 4: Yes, on 1 occasion, without the individual’s consent. Details of years provided below:

• Financial year 2020/2021 - 1

QUESTION 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?
ANSWER 5: To confirm, we have not received any requests relating to immigration enforcement from the Home Office.

If so:
QUESTION 5a: How many times has the Home Office requested this type of information?
ANSWER 5a: N/A, please refer to the response to question 5 above.
QUESTION 5b: Have you complied with the requests? If so, how many times? If not, could you state the reasons?
ANSWER 5b: N/A, please refer to the response to question 5 above.
QUESITON 5c: 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)
ANSWER 5c: As per response to question 2.
QUESTION 5d: 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?
ANSWER 5d: Please note that copies of the requests from the Home Office are refused under Section 38 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 on the basis that I consider these documents to be the personal data of individuals. This information is personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. The individuals concerned have not given their consent to the information being disclosed to the person making the request.

Disclosure of the information, and any other information which is likely to come into the possession of the person making the request; would lead to disclosing personal information relating to another individual who can be identified from that information. The release of this personal information would contravene data protection principles.

However, I can advise that the type of information requested in the case identified related to immigration (not immigration enforcement).

QUESTION 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?"
ANSWER 6: The council have not discussed the possibility of a UK Home Office request for personal data of individuals for purposes of immigration enforcement.

Please also note that the National Records of Scotland (NRS) may hold information relevant to your request. You can contact the NRS at the following email address: [email address]. Additional contact details are available on the NRS web page: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/about-us/s...

The UK Government may also be able to aid with your request. You can find details on making a request on their web site at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...

You are free to use the information supplied in this response for your own non-commercial research or private study purposes. The information may also be used for any other purpose allowed by a limitation or exception in copyright law, such as news reporting. Any such use must be in context and must not be misleading. Any other type of re-use, for example by publishing the information in analogue or digital form, including on the internet or commercial use, will require the permission of the intellectual property owner and copyright owner.

Further details as to how to apply to re-use information supplied by us can be found on our website at www.westlothian.gov.uk/freedom-of-inform...

If you have any complaint about the Council's handling of your request for information, you may require the Council to review its actions and decisions in relation to this response. Please write, within 40 working days from the receipt of this information, to Carol Johnston, Chief Solicitor, West Lothian Council, West Lothian Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston EH54 6FF (Telephone: 01506 281605, email: [email address]). The request should be in writing, email or other permanent format and should state your name, address and specify the original request for information and the reason for your dissatisfaction.

In the event that you have not received a response to your request within 20 working days (allowing time for postage), or if you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Internal Review, a further right of review exists to the Scottish Information Commissioner. You can apply online: www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal or in writing to the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS (01334 464610; email [email address]).

You can apply to the Commissioner for a decision on the manner in which the Council has dealt with your request. The application must be submitted within six months after the date of receipt by you of the outcome of the Internal Review or in the event of the Council failing to comply with the Internal Review within six months of the expiry of the time period for compliance. The application should be in writing, email or other permanent format, state your name, address and the reason for your dissatisfaction with the original response and internal review. Should you then wish to appeal against the Commissioner's decision, there is a right of appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law only. Any such appeal must be made within 42 days after the date of intimation of the Commissioner's decision.

Yours Sincerely

Carol Dunn

West Lothian Council

DATA LABEL: OFFICIAL - Sensitive

In accordance with our Corporate Policy you may be contacted shortly to obtain your views on how we handled your request.

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