| Nearly 1,000 unanswered information requests have been binned by the Scottish Government’s environmental watchdog without requesters being told. |
| The Ferret has learned that in March 2023, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) closed 893 unanswered freedom of information (FoI) requests which were submitted before 9 January 2023. The body also closed 92 unresolved formal reviews requested by members of the public who were unhappy with the way their FoIs were handled. |
| The decision was sanctioned by the Scottish Information Commissioner, Daren Fitzhenry – who enforces freedom of information law – and was aimed at dealing with a backlog of requests caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a criminal cyber attack on Sepa. |
| But Sepa has confirmed to The Ferret that, although it published details of the decision to close the FoIs on a section of its website in March, it did not inform people individually that their requests were not going ahead.
Picture: Community groups have been trying to keep the shore clean in Dumbarton.
THE FULL STORY IS ON THE FERRET WEBSITE
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All part and parcel of the undemocratic state.