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SEPA's Journey with EIR: Challenges, Impacts, and Benefits

Explore SEPA's perspective on the implementation of Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and its effects on stakeholders, records management, and information handling. Learn about the challenges faced, impacts experienced, and benefits gained from adopting new legislation.

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SEPA's Journey with EIR: Challenges, Impacts, and Benefits

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  1. Making the EIRs work:SEPA’s perspective on the story so far Alison Mackinnon Information Manager, SEPA

  2. Agenda • Before January 2005 • Preparing for implementation • After January 2005 • Reality bites • Impacts • Challenges • Case Study

  3. SEPA’s approach • Commitment to spirit of law • Favouring stakeholders • Joined up information legislation: • Freedom of Information • Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) • Data Protection Act • ‘Badged’ as Access to Information • Business changes driven by new legislation

  4. Benefits of new regimes • Opportunities to: • address existing challenges • bring together existing, but separate, initiatives • develop new working relationships • establish and reinforce positive attitudes • Favouring stakeholders also helps staff

  5. Records management • Applied principles of section 61 code as framework • Key activities • Reviewed existing Records Management Policy • Information audit carried out • Formalised arrangements for Inactive records • Pressure of being RM and FOI lead • Only the beginning..!

  6. Training and awareness • Intranet and web information/resources • Presentations to board, managers and teams • Tiered training • intranet • general • system users • Existing communication routes • Induction

  7. Challenges as perceived in November 2004 • Creating one process for handling information enquiries • Differences between FOI and EIR • charging • exemptions • enquiry handling • Legal interpretation • Timescale for implementation

  8. Reality bites – January 2005 - • 290 enquiries logged to date • 260 handled under EIR • 30 handled under FOI legislation • None under DPA • 2 FTEs working full time on logging, tracking and co-ordinating responses to enquiries

  9. Impacts for SEPA • Enquiry Hotspots • Topic e.g. Waste • Location e.g. Dounreay • Some teams/units disproportionately affected • Multiple enquiries on same topic • Long standing issues being replayed via new regimes • Linked to service complaints • Tensions between staff time spent on Access to Information v. regulatory role

  10. Impacts for SEPA - 2 • Staff time required to operate process • Staff time spent outwith charging regime • Scoping enquiry • Reviewing information before release • Handling formal reviews • Lack of finalised Code of Practice and Guidance from Scottish Executive

  11. Charging • ALL enquiries are free if they will take less than 7 hours of staff time to locate and retrieve requested information • FOI charging scheme applies • EIR charging at £25.00 per hour of staff time for chargeable activities • All Fees Notices issued before work • 15 EIR Fees Notices issued • One Fees Notice paid

  12. Challenges as perceived in June 2005 • Meeting continuing level of demand • Information requested on a national basis is held locally or regionally • Finding time to make more information proactively available • Interfaces with other processes for interacting with external customers • Getting back to Records Management again • Keeping all the balls up in the air!

  13. Case Study – Loch Lomond Phosphorus Leaflet • Article in the Herald on 7 March 2005 • Based on information released under EIR • Impact in the content • Lessons learned • Wording of Emails! • Made it real for many staff

  14. Access to Information – RM impacts • Having to locate and retrieve records has: • Highlighted different filing practices across SEPA • Underlined need for the releasibility status of key document types to be determined and recorded • Has demonstrated that good Records Management is not just FILING!

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