11 October 2007, Central government
The complainant requested a copy of the advice provided by the PSD to Ministers following PSD’s analysis and consideration of all the submissions made during a public consultation into various issues surrounding crop spraying, the consultation meeting having taken place on 30 March 2004. The PSD provided the applicant with a copy of the annexes to the advice which mainly consisted of statistical information but refused to provide the advice itself. The PSD claimed that the information was exempt from disclosure under the exception at Regulation 12(4)(e) of the Environmental Information Regulations. Having investigated, the Commissioner accepts that the exception at 12(4)(e) is engaged but does not accept that the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information and consequently finds that the exception was incorrectly applied.
EIR 12.4.e: Upheld