Environmental Information Regulations 2004

You have the right to ask for environmental information held by the Council.

The regulations

• Allow any person or organisation to ask public authorities like us for any environmental information we have.
• We aim to be open, honest and accountable.

Anyone can ask to see any environmental information they think we may have. But if it is personal information about yourself, you will need to request this under the Data Protection Act 2018 as a Subject Access Requet.

There is no need to tell us why you want the information, but you have to tell us if you are going to use it for anything apart from research or for your own personal reasons. If you want to use it for other reasons, then we may make a charge or ask for other conditions.

How can people make a request?

The regulations say that for all requests:

• Any person or organisation may apply.
• Give your name and address and the exact details, if not, we might have to ask for more information.
• A request must be made in writing which can be in the form of either a letter or email, or using our online FOI/EIR request form.
• If a request is made verbally (face to face or on the phone) we will write to you to confirm that we have the right details . 
• We must give an answer within 20 working days of receiving your request, but if it is a long or complicated request, that can be extended to 40 working days.

Charging for information

If we decide to charge for the information to be re-used or published, we will use our current charges for Copyright, Land Charges, Land Quality Information and Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

If your request is too large, we may not be able to provide all of the information without making a charge. If we need to charge, we will tell you how much.

Response times

Unless we are waiting for a payment, we will give a reply within 20 working days, or 40 working days for large or complicated requests.

Exceptions to disclosure

We might not be able to give you the information you want because it may be subject to Exceptions under the Regulations. If this is the case you will be given details as to why it is being withheld. The Information Commissioner will make sure we are acting properly.

Complaints and appeals

Complaints

You can complain if you don’t think we have dealt with your request properly. You might complain about:

• Failure to reply within 20 working days (or failure to explain why we need longer).
• Failure to give the information in the way you asked for it.
• Failure to give you the right help and advice.

Appeals

When we refuse to give information you will be sent a Refusal Letter to explain why. Reasons to appeal may include:

• Failure to provide all/part of the information you asked for.
• Acting wrongly under the regulations.
• Failure to properly explain the reasons for refusing your request.

You can complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not acted correctly, but only after you have sent your complaint or appealed to us and are still unhappy with the answer.

If you are not happy with the way we have dealt with your request, you can ask for an internal review. Please contact the Information Governance Team to arrange this.