Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many freedom of information requests have been refused by her Department under section (a) 36 (b) 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on grounds relating to (i) asylum policy and (ii) stakeholder engagement since January 2023.

When engaging with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF) and Strategic Engagement Group (SEG), minutes are taken at these meetings. There are no criteria defining ‘constructive dialogue’ with NGOs.

A list of non-governmental organisations who attended NASF and SEG since January 2023 is provided below:

Micro Rainbow

The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM)

British Red Cross

Refugee Action

Asylum Matters

Scottish Refugee Council

Refugee Council

Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP)

Freedom from Torture

Rainbow Migration

Helen Bamber Foundation

Migrant Help

Immigration Law Practitioners Network (ILPA)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

No formal risk assessment has been undertaken. The disclosure of meeting records is handled in the usual way taking into account the wider Home Office risk assessment framework, disclosure and data protection provisions, and, where applicable, Freedom of Information guidance.

The Home Office publishes Freedom of Information (FOI) performance data, including the number of times exemptions under sections 36 and 38 of the FOI Act have been applied. This information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

Establishing whether these exemptions were applied for reasons relating to asylum policy or stakeholder engagement could only be obtained for the purposes of this question at disproportionate cost.