§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the implication for the appeal mechanisms in force under the public registers provisions within integrated pollution control of the incorporation into United Kingdom law of EC directive 90/3B/EEC on the freedom of access to environmental information in 1993.
§ Mr. MacleanNone. At present information may be withheld from the integrated pollution control—IPC—public register only on grounds of commercial confidentiality or national security. The EC directive on freedom of access to information on the environment contains similar exemptions. As the existing provisions under IPC and the96W requirements of the directive are compatible, the appeals mechanism for the exclusion of information from public registers will not be affected by incorporation of the directive into United Kingdom law.