Natural England is committed to promoting and actively developing, a culture of openness, transparency and accountability embodied in the Access to Information legislation. This refers to the general right of access that the public have to the information held by Natural England and other public authorities. This right of access comes from:
- The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA)
- The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs)
- The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
These principles are defined in Natural England's Access to Information Statement 
. This statement sets out our commitment to our staff, stakeholders and the wider public about how we set about creating a public service organisation that is more open, transparent and accountable.
Legal background
This Access to Information legislation gives any person of any nationality the right to request information held by Natural England, or other public bodies. The information can be requested for any purpose. The legislation is fully retrospective. All Natural England’s information is covered by the legislation, in every format: requests apply to emails, personal notebooks, miscellaneous collections of papers, as well as our registered paper and electronic files.
The FOIA also requires each public body to produce a publication scheme stating the information, which it routinely makes available. Similarly the EIRs place a duty on us to progressively make information easily accessible to the public via electronic means.
Natural England is subject to the FOIA and EIRs. These pages explain how Natural England is conforming to the legislation, how individuals can exercise their rights in relation to information held by Natural England, and what staff need to do to ensure that Natural England meets its legal obligations. If you require access to information about yourself, please read our Data Protection pages instead.
Further information about your rights under the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations are available on the website of the Information Commissioner.
Publication Scheme
Schemes are designed to act as ‘route maps’ to assist people to find key information which is routinely published by public authorities. It focuses on information relating to our key executive, advisory and promotional duties and also on the standards and guidance by which we make decisions. It describes the classes of information which we publish, providing appropriate examples of individual documents, and details the formats in which publications are available and whether any charges apply.
We recommend that you consult our Publication Scheme before you submit an Access to Information request, as many policies, procedures and other items of information are covered by the scheme. In addition, information, which is included in a publication scheme, is exempt from Access to Information requests as it is accessible by other means.
Guidance and Policy
Submitting an Access to Information request [238 kB]
Explains how to Submit an Access to Information request, how Natural England will process your request and your right to appeal.
Access to Information Policy [155 kB]
Natural England's Access to Information Policy is binding on all Staff, and underpins our approach to conforming to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations.
Access to Information Staff Guide [269 kB]
The Staff Guide is designed to help staff understand what they have to do to meet the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations. It includes sections on dealing with requests for information, the role of the Publication Scheme, appeal procedures, records management, and the implications of Access to Information for Natural England's relationship with contractors and how to manage requests while you're out of the office and Frequently Asked Questions.
Disclosure Log
The Disclosure Log shows responses to access to information requests that we regard as having a wider public interest. These have released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Please note that the disclosure log does not list everything in detail that has been released under the Access to Information Legislation.