Chemicals Regulation Directorate

The complainant requested information clarifying which pesticides approved by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate (‘CRD’), a directorate of the Health and Safety Executive, were parallel import approvals. The CRD initially refused the request under section 43(2) (commercial interests) and section 12(1) (cost of compliance) of the Freedom of Information Act (‘the Act’). However, the Commissioner has found that the withheld information constituted environmental information for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (‘EIR’). The Commissioner therefore asked the CRD to reconsider the request under this legislation. Subsequently, CRD cited regulation 12(5)(e) (commercial confidentiality) as grounds for withholding the information but considered that regulation 12(4)(b) (manifestly unreasonable), the closest relative to section 12(1) of the Act, would not apply. The Commissioner has determined that regulation 12(5)(e) is not engaged. In addition, the Commissioner considers that CRD breached regulations 5(2) and 14(3) of the EIR in its handling of the request.