Soil Association Certification fights for government to handle information requests after Defra error
A ruling made by the Information Commissioner’s Office following an administrative error by Defra poses a risk to organic certification, according to Soil Association Certification.
Last month a tribunal ruled that Soil Association Certification should be regarded as a public body and should handle requests made under Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs).
The ruling followed a request from WildFish seeking to access inspection reports around its licensed organic salmon operations, a request that was forwarded to Defra who had always dealt with these requests previously.
But an administrative error was made when that request was being dealt with. Instead of determining the information that should be released, as it always had done under the terms of its contract with Soil Association Certification and other certification bodies, Defra refused the request.
The refusal was made on the grounds that it did not hold the data required, which is not correct as it does have access to the data and has responded to many cases previously. This has led to an ongoing dispute over who is responsible.
Soil Association Certification has therefore this week submitted a request to appeal against the ruling.
Its case continues to be that Defra should determine EIRs, with control bodies releasing information as and when requested, as, unlike government departments, certification bodies do not have the legal or financial resource, and this poses a risk to the organisation and the wider organic sector.
Soil Association Certification Chief Executive Dominic Robinson said:
“Transparency is at the heart of all we do. We are proud of the role that we play in holding producers to account to meet organic standards. Our dispute is not with WildFish over the release of information – we support the public’s right to information, in line with the regulations. We are more than happy to provide Defra with those reports so they can deal with the information request, as we have done for countless other requests over the years.
“But as a non-profit organisation, we do not have the resource or expertise to deal with information requests, which require expert knowledge of the regulations. To increase and upskill our workforce would incur significant cost and responding to these requests directly will lead to ongoing legal fees, and that poses a risk to the success of our organisation’s charitable work, and to the wider organic standard.
“The organic sector is doing tremendous work to deliver the highest environmental and welfare standards in the UK, and this could be jeopardised if this responsibility is unfairly placed on control bodies. We owe it to every person, landscape and animal that benefits from our work to fight to ensure that Defra continues to deal with information requests, as they are equipped to do so and always have done. That is what our appeal has always been about. We have never sought to withhold information, as has been wrongfully suggested by some.”
As part of the recent tribunal, the other UK organic control bodies signed a letter to support Soil Association Certification’s position that EIRs should be processed by Defra, with concern for the impact a change would have on the sector.
During the last year Soil Association Certification has responded promptly to Defra on several EIRs requests, which involved the sharing of inspection reports, amongst other documents.
Ongoing review of organic salmon
Separately to this legal dispute, the charity-side of the Soil Association is reviewing its involvement with setting higher standards for organic salmon.
This process has involved extensive research experts on aquaculture, animal welfare and environmental issues, including meetings with WildFish who have been engaged throughout the process.
Currently, organic salmon provides consumers with a choice to buy salmon from farms with lower stocking densities, where the most harmful and polluting medicines are banned, and where feed must come from certified sustainable sources.
But the Soil Association is seeking to reform and improve its standards, and a series of proposals are open to public consultation until Sunday 15 March.
Find out more about the ongoing review and current consultation