Environment Agency
- Date 16 July 2024
- Sector Central government
- Decision(s) EIR 12.5.e: Not upheld, EIR 14 2: Upheld
The complainant has requested EA to disclose the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) audit reports for water companies, which concern each of the water company’s Monitoring Certification Scheme (‘MCERTS’) site conformity inspection certificate for flow monitoring. EA refused to disclose the information citing regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR. The Commissioner’s decision is that EA is not entitled to rely on 12(5)(e) of the EIR. It also breached regulation 14(2) of the EIR by failing to issue a refusal notice within 20 working days of the receipt of the request. The Commissioner requires EA to disclose the requested information to the complainant. EA is permitted to redact personal data from the withheld information in accordance with regulation 13 of the EIR.