Publication - FOI/EIR release

Scottish Forestry investigation into possible illegal tree felling: EIR release

Published: 27 May 2021
Topic: Environment and climate change, Public sector
FOI reference: FOI/202100191068
Date received: 7 April 2021
Date responded: 5 May 2021

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004

Information requested

All available material in relation to the above investigation including reports submitted outlining result of investigations conducted, all reports concerning the designation of the land, all emails held by you pertaining to the investigation, all officer’s notes pertaining to the investigation and all photographs taken in pursuit of the investigation.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Illegal Felling Report Form

I attach a copy of some of the information you requested in a pdf format.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide all of the information you have requested because an exception(s) under regulation(s) Regulation 11(2) (Personal data relating to third party) of the EIRs applies to that information.

Report concerning the designation of the land

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we do not have some of the information you have requested as there is no report concerning the designation of the land. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Copies of emails

I attach a copy of some of the information you requested in a pdf format.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide all of the information you have requested because an exception(s) under regulation(s) Regulation 11(2) (Personal data relating to third party) of the EIRs applies to that information.

The reasons why these exceptions apply are explained in Annex A to this letter.

Site visit notes

A copy of the Site visit notes is attached in pdf format.

Copy of all photographs taken in pursuit of the investigation

Regarding your request for a copy of all photographs taken in pursuit of the investigation. Unfortunately due to the current limitations on our staff and the restrictions of Covid-19 staff working in offices it is difficult to get copies and send them out, also because the large data contained in sending these by email we have created a link for you to access these photographs in Google (see below):

Link to photos taken by SF officer during site visit: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KeTcZaz4jsMUEr64A.
Link to photos supplied by complainant: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nSqKDNxqPvNVoT3a7.
Link to photographs from Email 5: https://photos.app.goo.gl/v88ANbw9U1AGpPHe9.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.