To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether his Department proposes to amend the Environmental Information regulations analogously to its proposed amendments to Freedom of Information provisions; (119486)

There are no plans for changing the Regulations. The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 transpose the EU Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information into UK Law.

The Environmental Information Regulations have no provision for the calculation of fees. They stipulate that any charge should not exceed an amount which a public authority is satisfied is a reasonable amount which reflects both the Aarhus Convention and the EU Directive from which they derive. However DEFRA will make changes to the guidance on the Environmental Information Regulations in the light of any changes to the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 to help the general public and public authorities deal with the two distinct information access regimes.