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Press Release - Environment/Local Authority Case Summaries (Annual Report 1994)

Press Release - Environment/Local Authority Case Summaries (Annual Report 1994)

Environment/Local Authorities - Notes

• Information on the Environment

Complaints about the operation of the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations concerned refusal to release requested information, delays in providing it or excessive charges for the information. The Ombudsman's approach to these complaints is a positive one; information must be released unless it specifically exempted by the Regulations. Where the Regulations provide for a discretionary exemption, the public authority must satisfy the Ombudsman that in refusing to release the information, they are acting reasonably.

In one complaint, a Local Authority refused to release information relating to drinking water. On the basis of a preliminary examination, the Ombudsman was not satisfied that the refusal was justified and he conducted an investigation of the case. The Local Authority's main arguments were that the information did not come within the scope of the Regulations and also that the information constituted an internal communication and that it was, therefore, within the discretion of the Authority to refuse to release it under the Regulations.

The Ombudsman decided on the basis of the facts of the case that the information was covered by the Regulations and that it was not reasonable of the Local Authority to refuse to release it. The Ombudsman recommended that the Local Authority make available to the complainant the information sought and this recommendation was accepted by the Authority.

• Coastal Erosion

A complaint against a Local Authority about flooding caused by a damaged coastal embankment highlighted the gaps in information which can exist between Government Departments. While the embankment was private property, careful research by the Office revealed that there were funds in the care of the Public Trustee available for repair of the embankment.

• Housing Application: Lack of Appreciation of Functions of the Ombudsman

A feature of another complaint was the lack of appreciation on the part of a Local Authority of the functions of the Ombudsman. A woman and her daughter complained that her application for housing had been ignored and that they had been forced to live for a number of years in a mixture of temporary accommodation. Despite repeated requests, the Local Authority failed to supply the Ombudsman with relevant information to enable him to take a decision on the matter. Eventually, the information was supplied, and the woman was allocated a house.

The Ombudsman informed the Local Authority that he was not satisfied with their handling of the housing application or with their response to his Office. The Ombudsman expects that all relevant information will be supplied promptly when requested in order to enable him to decide whether an authority has acted correctly.