Environmental information regulations

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 give the public the right to environmental information. The regulations promote the publication of as much environmental information as possible to promote public participation in environmental decision making.

Environmental information includes information about air, water, soil, land, flora and fauna, energy, noise, waste, and emissions. It also concerns information which may not appear to be environmental but in fact has clear links to the environment. These are:

• any decisions, measures and activities affecting or likely to affect the above finance and cost benefit analysis relating to these would also be classed as environmental information
• certain information about human health and the food chain
• built structures and cultural sites.

As you can see, the NHS must provide information pertaining to human health.

Who can make a request?

Anyone can make a request from any public authority such as the NHS. Requests can be in any format either written or oral.

Who can you request information from?

Environmental information requests can be made to any public authority, whether this be central or local government bodies carrying out public functions on behalf of that authority such as water companies and / or waste disposal companies.

Exceptions

There is a presumption under the Regulations that environmental information must be released unless there are strong public interest considerations to justify withholding the information. Regulation 12 of the Environmental Information Regulations lays down the exceptions under which a public authority can withhold information. For example, the information can be refused if:

• the information is not held
• the request is manifestly unreasonable
• the request is too general
• the request is for unfinished documents / data
• the request is for internal communications
• if releasing information would damage commercial interests, international relations, defence, national security, affect the course of justice and the ability of someone to receive a fair trial and if it affects the public authority's ability to undertake its business.

If information relates to emissions the authority cannot refuse information on the grounds of confidentiality of proceedings, commercial confidentiality, personal/voluntary data, or environmental protection.

The public interest test

All information under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) is subject to the public interest test. This test ensures that authorities consider whether it serves the interest of the public to disclose or withhold the information.

Further information

You can contact the following organisations for more information:

• Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has a unit dedicated to offering policy advice and guidance relating to the Environmental Information Regulations - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs 
• Information Commissioner's Office - https://ico.org.uk/