Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

The complainant has requested DEFRA to disclose its correspondence to the European Commission in respect of the judgement made by the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C301/10 regarding the Whitburn sewage system. DEFRA responded to this request refusing to disclose the requested information under regulations 12(5)(a) and 12(5)(b) of the EIR. The Commissioner’s decision in this case is that DEFRA correctly applied regulation 12(5)(a) of the EIR and that the public interest in favour of disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining this exception. The Commissioner requires no further action to be taken. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2015/0112 dismissed. Information Tribunal appeal GIA/364/2016 (permission to appeal) refused.