The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 give members of
the public the right to access environmental information held by
public authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They
came into force on 1 January 2005.
Detailed
information about the regulations (new
window) can be found on the Information Commissioner's
website.
The regulations are very similar to the
Freedom of Information Act, except they only
apply to information that is of an environmental nature, for
example:
- the state of the elements of the environment, such as air,
water, soil, land, fauna (including human beings);
- emissions and discharges, noise, energy, radiation, waste and
other such substances;
- measures and activities such as policies, plans, and agreements
affecting or likely to affect the state of the elements of the
environment;
- reports, cost-benefit and economic analyses;
- the state of human health and safety, contamination of the food
chain; cultural sites and built structures (to the extent they may
be affected by the state of the elements of the
environment).
Any individual can request environmental information. The
request does not have to be in writing; it can be by letter, email,
telephone or in person. When it receives request the Council is
then under the following obligations:
- To respond within 20 working days following the date of the
request.
- Confirm whether the information being requested is held by
us.
- Provide advice & assistance.
- Advise your right to make a complaint.
There are very few exemptions to the types of environmental
information that can be requested under the regulations. However,
should an exemption apply, we will write and tell you which
exemption is being applied and why.
How do I obtain information?
You can make a request for information using the contact details
given below:
Enviromental Protection Team,
Suffolk Coastal District Council,
Melton Hill,
Woodbridge,
Suffolk IP12 1AU.
Email:
environmental.protection@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
Telephone: 01394 383789
Fax: 01394 385100
Please make sure your request is specific and includes an email
or postal address for us to respond to. A fee may also be payable
depending on the complexity and volume of information being
requested.
Copyright
Information for which the Council holds the copyright may be
released under access to information legislation such as
the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental
Information Regulations but this does not automatically mean
you have permission to reproduce it.
Information released can be used for private purposes but must
not be used for commercial purposes unless you have advised us you
wish to re-use it and you have our permission to do so.
The Council must ensure the conditions for the re-use are clear
and in keeping with the Council's copyright so a licence may be
issued detailing such conditions. Follow this link for
more about getting permission to re-use
information.
Disclosure logs
You can access detailed lists of all the Freedom of Information
and Environmental Information Regulations requests received by the
Council. These lists, known as
disclosure logs, give details of when a request
was received, details of the request, the response date and the
status of the response (whether the request was released in full,
in part or refused).