Environmental Information Regulations

The EIR are legally enforceable regulations that govern the public's right to access environmental information held by public authorities including local authorities.

Environmental information covered by the regulations includes the state of the air, atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape, as well as factors affecting the above elements such as substances, energy, noise, radiation or waste, emissions, discharges into the environment.

A useful summary of the regulations can be found at the website for DEFRA (Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs).

The main difference between the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) is that a reasonable charge can be made for any information under EIR; a charge under FoI can only be made in certain, very limited circumstances.

The Public Health Directorate will usually (but not always) deal with most enquiries for environmental information from Solihull MBC. Below is a copy of their charging scheme.

Contact Details

You can contact the Public Health Directorate at

Public Health Directorate
Council House
Solihull MBC
B91 3QT

Telephone 0121 704 8369
Email: environmentalhealth@solihull.gov.uk

Note

If you intend to re-use any environmental information, particularly for commercial purposes, you should be aware of the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005. In some circumstances a licence may be required for re-use of information, with associated fees over and above those made under EIR.

For further information please see our page on Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005