Question reference: S5W-16304
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 1 May 2018
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Current status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 10 May 2018
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16012 by Alasdair Allan on 26 April 2018, whether any of the people who identified their ethnic group as "Caribbean or Black" or "African" have approached it to (a) discuss concerns regarding the threat of possible deportation and (b) advise that they have been refused access to health care or services in Scotland and, if so, how many and what action it took.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains in contact with stakeholders and partner organisations to ascertain whether anyone in Scotland may be at risk. At the moment, no one has come forward indicating that they risk being removed from Scotland or that they have been refused access to services here as a result of this scandal.
The UK Government has announced a review of the decisions which led to the Windrush crisis. However, the Scottish Government does not believe this will fully address the root causes of the Windrush scandal – the hostile environment policy, driven by a target to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands. The Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs wrote to the new Home Secretary on 1 May setting out the Scottish Government concerns about UK immigration policy and seeking an early meeting.