Who is Covered?

The EIRs define a Scottish public authority in Regulation 2 and, in addition to the bodies covered by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), include the following:

any other Scottish public authority with mixed functions or no reserved functions (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998); and
any other person who is neither a public body nor the holder of a public office and who is under the control of a person or body which is either covered by FOISA or which is a Scottish public authority with mixed or no reserved functions and:

      (i) has public responsibilities relating to the environment;
      (ii) exercises functions of a public nature relating to the environment; or
      (iii) provides public services relating to the environment.

There is no definition of ‘control’ in the EIRs or what the term ‘functions of a public nature’ amounts to. However, the Scottish Government has produced a Code of Practice, the Section 62 Code, which provides further guidance on dealing with requests for environmental information:

Section 62 Code of Practice (environmental information)