Better Transport

You have a right to know information (especially environmental information) held by public authorities such as councils or Government departments, and this right is enshrined in law and upheld by the Information Commissioners Office and the Information Tribunal.

The most well known law is the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act). However, the most relevant and powerful legislation for people campaigning against road schemes is the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs). These regulations are even stronger than the FOI Act because there are fewer reasons you can be denied information. 

Both laws have a strong presumption in favour of disclosing information.

Environmental Information Regulations 2004 Freedom of information Act 2000

These laws are not just about giving you access to information, but also about placing a duty on public authorities to publish information in the first place.

Fortunately it is not difficult to make a request, you just need to ask!

Publication schemes
Both laws place a duty on the public authority to publish information. Section 19 of the FOI Act says each public authority is required to produce a publications scheme through which they should publish information and state what information they intend to publish in the future. Regulation 4 of the EIRs also place a requirement on the authority to publish information.

If you consider that the information published about the road scheme you're fighting is not good enough or you know there are documents the authority hasn’t published, you can politely ask them to publish the information on their website. You should quote the relevant regulation in the EIRs or the FOI Act that relate to the duty to publish. 

Before you make a request for information take a look for the Publication Scheme on the authority’s website as you may find what you need there. Some councils do not have a Publication Scheme which is very bad practice.

Making a request
Reasons your request may be turned down
If at first you don't succeed