Guidance on National Security considerations when dealing with requests for
information held under Major Hazard and Environmental Pollution Prevention
Regulations
This Health and Safety Executive guidance is intended to assist Local
Authorities in considering what information should be reviewed for
exclusion, on the grounds of National Security, when responding to requests
for information held under Major Hazard and Environmental Pollution
Prevention Regulations. Such requests may be made under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOI), Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOI
Scotland), Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and the
Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations (EIR Scotland).
The guidance was developed following advice from the Centre for the
Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and the Chemical and Pipelines
Emergency Planning Liaison Group (CAP EPLG), and a national policy forum
that advises on emergency planning issues for and around major chemical
plants and in the vicinity of major hazard pipelines. The forum is chaired
by the Health and Safety Executive and includes representatives of the
Local Government Association.
The Control of Major Accident Hazard (COMAH) Regulations 1999 and Pipeline
Safety Regulations 1996 (PSR) require operators, in prescribed
circumstances, to provide information to local authorities to enable them
to prepare off-site emergency plans. Under the COMAH regulations,
establishments that are required to have off-site emergency plans, also
have to ensure that people in an area (designated by the HSE) are supplied
with appropriate information. This material should provide information on
safety measures at the establishment and on the requisite behaviour in the
event of an accident at the establishment.
These Regulations are excluded from the Civil Contingencies Act 2004,
Contingency Planning Regulations 2005. However, Category 1 responders may
use the Act regime to support or supplement these separate regimes where
they consider this appropriate.
