This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Access to environmental information
02/04/2004
The Scottish public will have greater access to information on developments affecting the environment under tough new guidelines proposed by the Executive.
Regulations governing the release of environmental information will be brought into line with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 increasing the type of information public bodies must disclose, reducing the time-frame for the disclosure of information and adding arrangements for appeal.
Launching a twelve week consultation into the proposals, Deputy Environment Minister Allan Wilson said:
"Making environmental information more easily accessible to the public is vital in achieving a sustainable Scotland. The more information people have access to, the more the public can understand the possible consequences on the environment of proposed actions.
"Improving the amount of information available will allow individuals and groups to take a more effective part in the decision making process and help ensure that developments are environmentally sustainable."
The consultation includes draft regulations, a draft Code of Practice and general guidance. The consultation will run for 12 weeks, closing on June 30, 2004.
Existing regulations can be found at www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19923240_en_1.htm and at www.hmso.go.uk/si/si1998/19981447.htm .
The Environmental Information Regulations 1992, implementing European Directive 1990/313/EC, set requirements for the release of information about the environment by public bodies across the UK. The Aarhus Convention of 1998, as implemented recently by European Directive 2003/4/EC, updated thinking on that subject.
Section 62 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2004 provides the power for Scottish Ministers to make the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004. The keeping of a separate regime for environmental information acknowledges the existing arrangements, the separate origins of the policy in international forums and the slightly wider range of bodies to which Aarhus applies. The Scottish Executive considers it crucial that the regulations are aligned as closely as practicable to the Freedom Of Information (FOI) regime.