Health, Safety and the Environment
- This briefing provides guidance on the consideration and application of the exemptions under section 39 (Health, safety and the environment) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), and the exceptions under regulations 10(5)(a) and (g) of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs).
- Section 39 contains two quite different exemptions. One applies where disclosure of information would, or would be likely to, endanger the physical or mental health or the safety of any person. The second applies to any information that is "environmental information" as defined in the EIRs.
- The health and safety exemption only applies where it can be demonstrated that a degree of harm would be likely to follow from disclosure, but the test of "endangerment" contained in this test is less demanding than the "substantial prejudice" test which applies in other exemptions contained in FOISA.
- The environmental information exemption provides a mechanism to enable public authorities to fulfil their obligations to meet their duties under both FOISA and the EIRs.
- Each of the relevant FOISA exemptions and the EIR exceptions is subject to the public interest test.
This briefing is intended to provide general guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant section. Please remember that all requests for information must be considered on a case by case basis, and the Commissioner's decision is made on the basis of the specific circumstances of each case.
Section 39 exemption briefing (PDF - 123 kB)
Briefing last updated November 2011.