Freedom of Information - How to access information
Information included in this Publication Scheme will be routinely made available. The Scheme has been designed to highlight information and publications from sources other than those routinely distributed by the Department and to take account of the information typically requested of the Department.
How do I request information?
Some of the documents listed may be available on this website and links are provided to enable you to obtain them easily. These are electronic documents in, for example, Word or .pdf format, and can be downloaded free of charge. To read .pdf documents you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 
For those without Internet access, a single printout of the information contained on our website is available on request from
Information Management Branch
Room 6-01A
Clarence Court
Adelaide Street
Belfast
BT2 8GB
Where no online version is available, the contact point, how the information is made available, i.e. by request or by viewing at a designated office, and any associated costs are set out in the individual documents. Information available by request can be obtained by writing to the respective office. Similarly, where information is available to view, arrangements can be made to do so by contacting the designated office.
In some instances, you may find that information may have been ‘removed' from a document. This is because the information falls within an exemption. Where this occurs, the document will be clearly marked to show where information has been removed and the exemption used.
Can I obtain the information in other formats or at alternative locations?
The information detailed in this Scheme is available on our website www.doeni.gov.uk and in paper form, and may also be available in other languages or formats on request.
The Department has considered its statutory equality obligations for the Publication Scheme under Section 75 of The Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Equality Commission's screening criteria have been applied to the Publication Scheme and have indicated that there is no evidence of significant implications on the equality of opportunity or good relations duties within the terms of Section 75 of the Act. There is therefore no requirement to carry out an equality impact assessment on the Publication Scheme.
Do copyright rules apply?
The Department of the Environment is a Crown body and the information we produce is subject to Crown copyright, which is administered by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. The material listed in this Publication Scheme is Crown copyright unless stated otherwise.
The copyright in some of the material which may be found in this Publication Scheme has been waived, meaning you can reproduce this material freely. Categories of material for which copyright has been waived include: government press notices, legislation and explanatory notes on the legislation, ministerial speeches, consultation documents, documents featured on official websites (except where expressly indicated otherwise), headline statistics and unpublished public records. More details of these and other categories can be found at the Office of Public Sector Information website on their Copyright Guidance webpage
For other types of material however, the supply of documents under Freedom of Information does not give the person or organisation who receives them an automatic right to re-use the documents in a way that would infringe copyright, for example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public.
Brief extracts of any of the material included in this Publication Scheme may be reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes, private study, criticism, review and news reporting.
Details of the arrangements for reusing Crown copyright material
or by contacting Her Majesty’s Stationery Office at:
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office
Licensing Division
St Clements House
2-16 Colegate
NORWICH
NR3 1BQ
Tel: 01603 621000
Fax: 01603 723000
email: HMSO Licensing
Authorisation to re-use copyright material not owned by the Crown should be sought from the copyright holders concerned. If in doubt, users should contact Her Majesty’s Stationery Office in the first instance.
How do I access information not available in the Publication Scheme?
You can apply for access to information not listed in the Publication Scheme by writing to:
Information Management Branch
Room 6-01A
Department of the Environment
Clarence Court
10-18 Adelaide Street
Belfast, BT2 8GB
Tel: 028 9054 1123
Fax: 028 9054 1103
Email: foi@doeni.gov.uk
When requesting information please include the following details:
- your name and address
- the information or documents you would like to access
- the way you would like the information to be sent to you (for example as hard copy, via e-mail, etc.)
Our leaflet, explaining how we process requests for information, can be downloaded (56KB) 
How long will it take?
The legislation requires us to respond to your request for information as soon as possible after it is received, and not later than 20 working days after the date of receipt. This timescale may have to be extended if the information requested is very extensive and therefore takes a long time to gather, or if we have to consider if providing it is in the public interest, or if we are waiting for you to pay a fee.
It will help us to process your request more quickly if you can be as specific as possible about what information you want. If necessary, we will contact you to ensure we understand your request clearly and this may add to the time we need to respond. It is also important to tell us whether you want the information sent to you on paper or by email, and whether you have any particular requirements. Information may be available in other languages or formats on request.
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