Environmental Information Regulations Act and Internal Review

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I made a Freedom of Information request to my council because it smells bad near of my council library.

I was dissatisfied with the result and I made a request for an Internal Review of the handling of my FOI request.

 

 

Unfortunately the council told me that it has no obligation to reply to this request for an Internal Review because it has considered my Freedom of Information Request under the Environmental Information Regulation Act 2004 and under Regulation 11 of this act a request for Internal Review should be made within 40 working days of the last correspondences of the council concerning my Freedom of Information request and I have made my request 50 working days after the last correspondence.

 

I made my request for an Internal Review 50 working days after the last correspondence of the council because I was not aware that my FOI request was considered under the Environmental Information Regulation Act 2004 and that there is a 40 working days deadline.

 

1.

In the email that I received from the council acknowledging receipt of my Freedom of Information Request and giving me a reference number it is stated that my request will be considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 but it is not stated that it will be considered also under the Environmental Information Regulations Act 2004 because in the acknowledgement email of the council it is stated the following:

 

“I am responding to your request under the Freedom of lnformation Act 2000, which we received on 10 May 2016, for information held by the Council”

 

However I have found in the Internet that contrary to my council when other councils acknowledge a Freedom of Information request and consider it under the Environmental Information Regulation Act 2004 they inform the applicant of this fact because I find the following in the Internet

 

“Thank you for your request for information regarding the conservation area in Parkgate, which we received on 07 October 2015. We are dealing with your request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004”

 

Therefore the council did not inform me that it will consider my FOI request under the Environmental Information Regulation Act 2004. I would like to know if it is at the time that the council receives a FOI request that it has to decide whether or not to treat it as environmental information request and it has a legal duty to inform the applicant of its decision in its acknowledgment email? I learnt it only because I made a request for an Internal Review.

 

2.

The only deadline to which the council makes reference in its emails is that he will reply to my FOI within 20 workings days but no reference is made to a 40 working days deadline.

Contrary to other councils in the website of my council it is not made any reference to this 40 working days deadline

In none of the emails that I received from the council about my Freedom of Information request it is made reference to the Environmental Information Regulation Act 2004 and to this 40 working days deadline.

Nowhere in the complaint form for Internal Review it is made reference to this 40 working days deadline

In the last email that I received from the council about my Freedom of Information request the council advises me that I can make a request for an Internal Review of the handling of my Freedom of Information request but the council did not advise me to do this within 40 working days.

 

I would like to know if because it has made reference to a deadline of 20 working days the council had a duty to make reference to all deadlines including the 40 working days deadline?

 

3.

I would like to know if the fact that the council does not say in its acknowledgement email and in none of its correspondences that my FOI request is considered under the Environment Information Regulations Act 2004 means that the council did not consider it under this act and has changed its mind later when I made my request for Internal Review to use as an excuse the 40 days deadline to refuse me this request because it is too embarrassing?

 

4.

I would like to know if the 40 days deadline starts when I was aware that I my FOI request was considered under the Environmental Information Regulation Act 2004 i.e. when I was told that my request for Internal Review was refused? For the reason that paragraph 2 of this act says

 

“Representations under paragraph (1) shall be made in writing to the public authority no later than 40 working days after the date on which the applicant believes that the public authority has failed to comply with the requirement”

 

5.

I made my request for an Internal Review of the handling of my FOI request only few days after the 40 working days deadline, In this circumstance I would like to know if I can advise the council to accept to process my request for Internal Review and to amend its website and to inform properly the applicant in case his Freedom of Information Request is considered under the Environmental Information Regulation Act 2004 and that there is an important 40 working days deadline

 

I have read the Environment Information Regulations Act 2004 and I found out that according to Regulation 14 of this Act in case the council refuses to provide the information requested under the FOI request the council has a duty to inform the claimant that he has the right to complain against this refusal within 40 working days under Regulation 11 of this Act.

 

Regulation 14 of the EIR 2004 states:

"14.—(1) If a request for environmental information is refused by a public authority under regulations 12(1) or 13(1), the refusal shall be made in writing and comply with the following provisions of this regulation

(5) The refusal shall inform the applicant—

(a)that he may make representations to the public authority under regulation 11; and

(b)of the enforcement and appeal provisions of the Act applied by regulation 18."

 

Regulation 11 of the EIR 2004 states:

 

["11.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), an applicant may make representations to a public authority in relation to the applicant’s request for environmental information if it appears to the applicant that the authority has failed to comply with a requirement of these Regulations in relation to the request.

(2) Representations under paragraph (1) shall be made in writing to the public authority no later than 40 working days after the date on which the applicant believes that the public authority has failed to comply with the requirement."

 

 

However I have not found in this Act that it is stated that in case the council accepts to provide the information request but the claimant is not satisfied with the information provided or with the handling of his FOI request the council has also the duty to inform him that he has the right to complain within 40 working days under Regulation 11 of this Act.

 

I have not found also in this act that it is stated that when the council decides to consider a FOI request under the Environment Information Regulations Act 2004 it has a duty to inform the claimant

 

I have maybe not properly read the Environment Information Regulations Act 2004. Therefore I would like to know if some of you know where it is made reference to these two important requirements in this Act or in another piece of legislation. I think that somewhere it should made reference to these two requirements because for example it would be unfair to deal with a FOI request under the Environment Information Regulations Act 2004 without the claimant being aware of this fact and without being aware that if he wants to make a request for an Internal Review he should do this without 40 working days.

 

I need this information to convince the council to accept my request for Internal Review without the need to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner