PART IIFUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN RELATION TO MATTERS AFFECTING WATER

Registers and other information

Exclusion from registers of information affecting national securityC131

1

No information shall be included in a register maintained under Article 30 if and so long as, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the inclusion in such a register of that information, or information of that description, would be contrary to the interests of national security.

2

The Secretary of State may, for the purpose of securing the exclusion from registers of information to which paragraph (1) applies, give to the Department directions—

a

specifying information, or descriptions of information, to be excluded from its registers; or

b

specifying descriptions of information to be referred to the Secretary of State for his determination;

and no information referred to the Secretary of State in pursuance of sub-paragraph (b) shall be included in any such register until the Secretary of State determines that it should be so included.

3

The Department shall notify the Secretary of State of any information it excludes from a register in pursuance of directions given under paragraph (2).

4

A person may, as respects any information which appears to him to be information to which paragraph (1) may apply, give a notice to the Secretary of State specifying the information and indicating its apparent nature; and, if he does so—

a

he shall notify the Department that he has done so; and

b

no information so notified to the Secretary of State shall be included in any such register until the Secretary of State has determined that it should be so included.

5

Any direction given under paragraph (2) shall be in writing and may be varied or revoked by a subsequent direction.