From January until September 2013 EPL was performing the public expertise of functioning of the Chief Statistics Administration in Lviv region analyzing the level of access to primary data that are supposed to be open. This is the third public expertise performed by EPL since entry into force of the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information”. Before this EPL had analyzed functioning of the State Administration of Environmental Protection and State Environmental Inspection in Lviv region.
General rule is that primary data received by statistics authorities from respondents are considered confidential information protected by law. However, this classification of information does not refer to primary data on the state of environment including lands, water, air, plants and animals, factors that may have impact on the state of environment and human health. Such data are found in reports according to the following templates: #1 – waste; #1 – environmental expenses; #1- protected areas; #2 – mn (hunting); 32 – mn (air); #3-лг.
The public expertise was focused on primary data on air and waste received by the Administration from respondents in 2012. EPL analyzed written and oral replies to information requests, copies of documents, information on the web-site of the Administration.
The expertise revealed some instances of incompliance with the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information”. The main violations revealed by EPL were incompliance of the reports registering system with provisions of the law and limited access to primary data that have to be open.
Results of the public expertise were summarized in expert proposals, which were submitted to the Chief Statistics Administration. The proposals relate to ways of improving access to primary data that according to the legislation are to be open.
