What are the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004?
You can request environmental information under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004. They are similar in structure to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in that in general if you request environmental information which sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company holds, then unless an "exception" applies you are generally entitled to be given the information within 20 working days.
Technically all information covered by the Regulations is exempt from Freedom of Information requests, but in practice this simply means that sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company must process your request under the Regulations rather than under the Act.
What are the similarities between Environmental Information requests and Freedom of Information requests?
The two regimes overlap in the following ways:
- sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company generally has 20 working days to respond to your request (see below).
What are the differences between Environmental Information and Freedom of Information requests?
There are some key differences between the two regimes, as follows:
- You can make a request in any manner.
- sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company will respond in 40 days where requests information are sufficiently complex and voluminous.
- Your request cannot be declined on the grounds that the cost of providing that information is too high.
How do I make an Environmental Information request?
If you wish to request information concerning the environment, you should use the same procedures as for Freedom of Information, detailed above. However it would be helpful if you made clear that you wish your request to be dealt with under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
All requests must:-
- be in writing or some other permanent form (e.g. e-mail or recorded message)
- state the applicant’s name and address; and
- describe what information is required
All written requests for information from sportscotland or the sportscotland Trust Company should be submitted to:
Legal Officer
sportscotland
Doges
Templeton on the Green
62 Templeton Street
Glasgow
G40 1DA
Tel: 0141 534 1175
Fax: 0141 534 6501
Email: FOI@sportscotland.org.uk