Overdue Freedom of Information request to Hillingdon Council

As we prepared the Autumn issue of the Town Crier, the Chair’s note at the front of the magazine was going to refer to some figures that we had expected from London Borough of Hillingdon… but as we had not received them, that note instead complains about the figures not being made available.

That was a fortnight ago, and now that the magazines have been printed and their distribution begins today, we’re giving some background on what we’d hoped to have learned by now.

Request for information made to Ian Edwards, Leader of Hillingdon Council

On 2nd July, Ruislip Residents’ Association’s Chief Road Steward and Community Communications representative wrote to Councillor Ian Edwards, Leader of London Borough of Hillingdon to ask about the asylum costs faced by Hillingdon.

The only figures I can see are that there were 36 families from the Chagos Islands calling upon Hillingdon (from the February full Council meeting) and your motion refers to the eviction of 2300 asylum seekers by the end of the present parliament.  It feels like trying to compare things in a supermarket, where one type of apple is priced per fruit and another per kilo – asylum seekers aren’t the same as families. 

I also saw a 2007 story about Hillingdon having lost a judicial review attempt to recover £5.3m for asylum costs, then a later 2009 story of central government paying £4m in 2009 for the previous year’s asylum costs.  There it said that the then-MPs Nick Hurd and John Randall were pressing for something more permanent, but couldn’t find what they’d achieved, the costs that the £4m was to reimburse, or what had happened afterwards 

I’d like to write back to Danny Beales with specific figures, to ask him to do specific things.  I’d also like to write to the Home Office and do the same.  I’d like to present this both from myself and have the Ruislip Residents’ Association raise their concerns too.

Where can I find the figures and details about how many asylum seekers, former asylum seekers, and if they’re different, refugees too, that Hillingdon has to accommodate, what that costs in terms of cost and resource, and of that burden, what is reimbursed and what isn’t?

Hearing only that Hillingdon has to “carry a disproportionate burden” doesn’t really help – in much the same way that Danny Beales’s response was only that “Hillingdon have been given more funding from this government than the last government”.  With specific figures of the burden, we can chase specific answers and press for specific demands.

I’d like to find what is Hillingdon having to pay now, what is it being reimbursed for, what is it losing out on, and what is the ideal solution that we should be petitioning for?  How do the figures for this year compare with the previous ten, and what are the projections for the future?  

Followup to Ian Edwards, Leader of Hillingdon Council

Without receiving any response, or even an acknowledgement, we sent a second email to Ian Edwards on 7th July:

In case you had forwarded my enquiry to someone else to deal with, I’m writing to let you know I’ve not heard anything from anyone in reply to my query last week.

You presumably have the figures on volume of cases and cost of asylum to LBH – not just at your fingertips and prepared for Thursday’s motion, but also in multiple departments and tracked in near-real time given how frequently you and others have referred to the costs in recent months, how significant an expense it is to Hillingdon, and how important budget monitoring has become.

If you don’t have time to share them yourself, I’d be grateful if you could delegate their provision to a colleague.  I am keen not only to understand the situation, but also to write both privately and publicly to our MP and government to ask what they’re doing.  I’m happy to take them in any format that you have.

Beyond that, and having paid the garden waste subscription, I don’t see what else a resident could do to help the cause.  Before being able to write though, and to preempt a bland brushoff, I’d like the figures to be able to make a more precise case than a vague ‘my council would like some more money please’.

Asking Cabinet Member Cllr Tuckwell for help

Still with no response whatsoever, when Cllr Steve Tuckwell appeared on BBC TV News, speaking about Hillingdon’s cost burden from asylum seekers, we forwarded the original enquiry to Cllr Tuckwell – Cabinet Member for Member for Planning, Housing & Growth (and a South Ruislip councillor).

I have seen you speaking on behalf of London Borough of Hillingdon to BBC News about the costs faced by the authority in relation to asylum seekers.  It is clearly an important cause, nationally for the country’s responsibility, and locally for our council’s capacity, resources, and funding.

While trying to understand the situation, and wanting to write to each of: 
 – Danny Beales MP (my constituency MP, and the one that is often mentioned as being unhelpful in contacting his ministers in support of our council), 
 – the Home Office and 
 – the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 

… to pressure and urge each of them to help and to do the right thing, I have asked Ian Edwards for help in understanding what exactly the pressures are, the figures that he is working with, the costs we/LBH faces and the insufficient contributions towards them that national government is making.

On seeing his motion on the topic on tomorrow evening’s agenda, I asked Ian for those details last week, and followed up on Monday.  I’m yet to hear anything back, and had asked who else might be able to help me to understand the situation.  Today on seeing that you’re speaking to the media on behalf of the council about the issue – and citing different figures from those I’ve seen elsewhere so far – perhaps you can help?  

Still without any response whatsoever, we asked both Democratic Services and Customer Engagement at London Borough of Hillingdon for help.  After speaking with Ian Edwards’s office, the Customer Engagement Team said that they would not answer unless we submitted a Freedom of Information request.

Freedom of information request

So, on 14 July, the following FoI submission was submitted and accepted – and a ‘due by’ date of 11 August was set.
  1. Current Responsibilities and Numbers
    a) How many asylum seekers, former asylum seekers, and refugees is the London Borough of Hillingdon currently responsible for (as of 2025)?
    b) Please provide a breakdown by category if possible (e.g. asylum seekers vs. refugees).
  2. Current Costs and Resources
    a) What are the current costs incurred by the council in supporting these individuals (e.g. housing, social care, education, etc.)?
    b) What council resources (staffing, services) are allocated to this support?
  3. Funding and Reimbursement
    a) What funding or reimbursement does the council receive from central government or other sources to cover these costs?
    b) What proportion of the total cost is not reimbursed and must be covered by the council?
  4. Historical Data
    Please provide the same data (numbers, costs, and reimbursements) for each of the past 10 years (2015–2024), if available.
  5. Future Projections
    Are there any projections or forecasts for the number of asylum seekers/refugees and associated costs for the next 1–3 years?
  6. Out-of-Borough Responsibility
    a) Is the council financially responsible for individuals who arrived via Heathrow but are housed outside the borough?
    b) If so, please explain the nature and extent of that responsibility.

Overdue resposne

After 5pm on 11 August we received a response from the Freedom of Information team:

I am writing in regard to your request for information below.  I note from our records that the response to your request is due today. Unfortunately, we are unable to respond today and there will be a slight delay in our response.  Please accept my apologies for this and we will endeavour to respond as soon as we are able.

Internal Review

As of the time of posting this article – on the morning of 28 August, we are still yet to hear either a valid reason for the delay, or receive any answers to the FoI request.

We have, therefore, requested an Internal Review from the manager in the Information Governance Team at London Borough of Hillingdon.

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