FT/EA/2024/0299 - [2025] UKFTT 01138 (GRC)

As the Court of Justice of the European Union has said: “The right to information means that the disclosure of information should be the general rule and that public authorities should be permitted to refuse a request for environmental information only in a few specific and clearly defined cases. The grounds for refusal should therefore be interpreted restrictively, in such a way that the public interest served by disclosure is weighed against the interest served by the refusal”. (Office for Communications v Information Commissioner Case C-71/10 at paragraph 22).

EIR does not expressly require the grounds for refusal to be interpreted in a restrictive way, but given the obligation to interpret the EIR purposively in accordance with the Directive the overall result in practice ought to be the same i.e. the grounds for refusal under the EIRs should be interpreted in a restrictive way (Vesco v (1) Information Commissioner and (2) Government Legal Department [2019] UKUT 247 (TCC))

Regulation 2(1) of the EIR defines “environmental information”. It is well established that the term is to be given a broad meaning in accordance with the purpose of the underlying Directive 2004/4/EC.

Regulation 5(1) provides that subject to any exceptions, a public authority that holds environmental information shall make it available on request. By regulation 9(1) a public authority shall provide advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect it to do so, to applicants.

Regulation 12 contains exceptions to the duty to disclose environmental information. Where relevant, it provides:

Requests for environmental information are expressly excluded from the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in section 39 and must be dealt with under EIR. All exceptions are subject to a public interest test and there is a presumption in favour of disclosure.