Information Access
This page gathers together a number of pages and sections from the website that, we hope, will make it easier for you to get access to the Department's information.
Your right to know
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) provided a general public right to access recorded information held by public authorities. The Act is intended to increase transparency, and improve public trust, in the workings of public authorities. Environmental information is specifically excluded from the provisions of the Act, and similar rights to access environmental information held by public authories are provided by the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). The general public right to information means that information made available in response to FOI or EIR requests is released to the world at large, and not just the person making the request; it is public information.