Environmental Information Regulations

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Requests for information relating to the environment may not fall under FOI. Instead, they may be subject to Environmental Information Regulations (EIR).

You can use our FOI form to submit an EIR request. You do not need to send in a separate form for EIR requests. The Barnet Council team will decide if your request falls under FOI or EIR regulations.

Information you can request

The Environmental Information Regulations cover information on:

  • the state of the elements of the environment, such as air, water, land
  • flora and fauna including genetically modified organisms
  • emissions
  • discharges
  • noise
  • energy
  • radiation
  • waste and other substances
  • measures and activities such as policies and plans, agreements, reports, cost benefit analyses
  • the state of human health and safety
  • contamination of the food chain
  • cultural sites and built structures as they may be affected by environmental factors.

In practice, this means that much of the information relating to Planning, Building Control, Health & Built Environment, Countryside Access and Waste management will be classed as environmental information.

Charges

EIR allow us to charge for making environmental information available. Any charge must be reasonable and won’t act as a deterrent to accessing information. We cannot charge unless the charges have been listed on our website.

Where possible, we publish environmental information online for free.

The council will not charge for:

  • public registers
  • lists of environmental datasets viewed at relevant council officers
  • complaints about EIRs
  • requests related to emissions

The council may charge for:

  • locating and collating information for viewing at relevant council offices.
  • requests that do not fall into the above categories. 
  • staff time for locating, retrieving and extracting information (including overheads) 
  • photocopying and disbursements according to current rates

List of charges:

If you are unsure which charges may apply to your request, please contact our team at:

Email: foi@barnet.gov.uk

Address:

Records and Information Management Team
Barnet Council
2 Bristol Avenue
Colindale 
London NW9 4EW

    How to write EIRs and what happens next

    The same process for freedom of information requests applies to EIRs. For more information on how to write your EIR and what to expect after you have submitted your request, please check make a freedom of information request

    If you're not happy with how your request was handled

    If you'd like to ask for a review of how your request was handled, please contact us explaining clearly and concisely why you are unhappy. We will review your concerns and write to you with the findings.

    Email: foi@barnet.gov.uk

    Postal address:

    Records and Information Management Team
    Barnet Council
    2 Bristol Avenue
    Colindale 
    London NW9 4EW

    If you have already had a review and are still dissatisfied, you can complain to the Information Commissioners Office:

    Email: casework@ico.org.uk

    Address:

    Information Commissioner's Office
    Wycliffe House
    Water Lane
    Wilmslow
    Cheshire SK9 5AF

    Telephone: 0303 123 1113