Environmental Information Regulations
The Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) came into force on 1st January 2005 and replaced the Environmental Information Regulations 1992. The regulations give members of the public the right to access environmental information held by public authorities.
What is environmental information?
It can be information about:
• The state of land including water, air, flora or fauna.
• Information about activities which adversely affect the environment including noise and other nuisances.
• Plans, programmes, cost-benefit and other analyses which relate to environmental information.
• Road, traffic, land use planning, development control, buildings and estates as this is also considered to be environmental information.
What is the difference between the Regulations and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000?
Requests for environmental information will be exempted from being dealt with under the FOIA (Section 39). This means that a request for environmental information will be handled through the EIR. There are a number of differences between the two acts but both allow access to information held by the Council subject to certain exemptions.
How do I make a request?
You can make a request for environmental information by any method including speaking to a Council officer and by telephone. You must:
• State your name and address for correspondence.
• State clearly what information is required and how you would prefer to receive this information. For example, report, email, visit to inspect records.
• You do not have to mention the Environmental Information Regulations but it would help us if you do.
By post: Ian Colyer, Freedom of Information Officer, Council Offices, The Campus, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL8 6AE
By email: freedom@welhat.gov.uk
By Fax: 01707 357276
By Phone: 01707 357000
What happens once my request has been received?
Once you have submitted your request, we must respond as soon as possible. We have 20 working days to complete your request ,although we can extend this to 40 working days where the request is complex. We will tell you if we need to extend the timescale.
If your request is unclear, we will contact you to clarify exactly what you are looking for. We have a duty to provide reasonable advice and assistance. The 20 (or 40) working days will not start until we can confirm details of your request.
In some cases, a charge may apply for supplying the information you want. If so, we will advise you of the cost and you will need to pay this before we proceed with your request. If you refuse to pay then we are not obliged to supply you with the information you are looking for.
Do the Council always have to give me the information I have asked for?
The Council may refuse to disclose information where an exception applies. If this is the case, we will tell you the reasons why we will not release the information you have requested. We are also obliged to apply what is known as the Public Interest test to all the exceptions in the Regulations. This means that even although the information may be covered by an exception, we must still disclose the information unless it is in the public interest not to do so.
What can I do if the Council refuse to give me the information I am after or it says it does not have the information?
The Council has a duty to have an internal review procedure. Details of this will be supplied if we refuse you information. If you are still unhappy, then you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Other sources of information on the Environmental Information Regulations: