What is Environmental Information?

The following areas are included:

• Information relating to the state of land, including water, air and soil,
• Information about emissions and discharges, noise, energy, radiation, and waste,
• Activities such as policies, plans, and agreements affecting or likely to affect the state of the environment,
• The state of human health and safety and contamination of the food chain,
• Cultural and historic sites and built structures and the extent to which they may be affected by the state of the environment.

Key Provisions

• Requests do not have to be in writing. They can be verbal.
• Requests can be made by organisations or individuals.
• Response time is 20 working days (which can be extended up to 40 working days where a request is complex or voluminous).
• A reasonable fee can be charged (unless access is being provided to a public register or if the information is examined at the offices of the public authority).
• Exemptions from disclosure are available but in each case (unlike the FOIA), only if the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.
• Information relating to emissions is subject to more limited exemptions from disclosure.
• Information which has the benefit of legal professional privilege may fall within one of the exemptions, but each case needs to be considered on its merit, (there is no specific exemption unlike the FOIA).
• Lack of third party consent does not necessarily prevent disclosure.
• There is a presumption in favour of disclosure.
• The disclosure obligation extends to information held by third parties on your behalf (e.g. waste contractors) or by you on behalf of third parties.

Exemptions

A public authority may refuse to disclose information when:

• The information is not held by the authority,
• The authority cannot ascertain the nature of the request,
• The request is 'manifestly unreasonable',
• The information is 'unfinished or in the course of being completed'.

Certain exceptions require proof of the harm that would be caused by release of the information. Information can, for example, be withheld if release would adversely affect:

• Defence, international relations, national security, or public safety,
• The course of justice, or the confidentiality of proceedings,
• Intellectual property rights,
• Interests of the supplier of the information, where supply was voluntary,
• Commercial confidentiality,
• The protection of the environment.

How long does the Council have to deal with a request?

We must respond as soon as possible or within 20 working days, unless the information requested is complex and voluminous. In such cases, the period can be extended to 40 working days. The 20 working day clock starts the day after we receive the request, or the day after we receive more details if the request is too general. If the time period is extended to 40 working days, we must inform the requester in writing giving the reason for the extended period and a date when they can expect to receive the information.

Will information be chargeable?

We may charge a reasonable fee for disclosing information, however we cannot charge an applicant to inspect the information. Public registers and lists such as the Register of Radioactive Substances, Contaminated Land Register etc are already available free of charge.

How to make a Request for Information

Anyone can make a request for information. Requests can be made verbally or in writing.

If you would like to make an Environmental Information request you can do this in a number of ways:

• Email us at: freedom.information@sunderland.gov.uk
• Print off and fill in an information request form ( 19kb) 
• Fill in and submit an online form
• You may make a request by letter, as long as you include your name and an address for reply.

It will help us if you mark your correspondence clearly 'Environmental Information Request' and send it to the:

Information Governance Team
City Solicitor
Corporate Services
Civic Centre
Sunderland
SR2 7DN

If you are Dissatisfied

If you are dissatisfied with the way Sunderland City Council has dealt with your request, you may put your comments to us and we will then reconsider our decision through our internal review process. If you are still dissatisfied after the reconsideration procedure, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who will investigate the case independently.

Useful Links

•  Sunderland City Council Environment section 
•  Environment section in the Council's Publication Scheme 
• Department Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)  
• Information Commissioners Office 
• Full Text of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 

See our page about making a Freedom of Information request.
See our page about Data Protection and making a Subject Access Request.