High Court hearing over government failure to publish environmental reports

The legal claim is brought by environmental campaigner and journalist Ben Webster, with a permission hearing set to take place this week (15 October 2026).

The claim argues that the government has wrongly interpreted its duty to proactively share environmental information; it follows a three-year battle from Mr Webster to see reports published about the cost of hydrogen for heating homes.

Mr Webster first requested information about using hydrogen to heat homes from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in August 2023. The request was part of his investigation into the viability of heating homes with hydrogen, which some scientists have described as a “false solution” presented by the gas industry.

This information was requested via the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs), which operate similarly to Freedom of Information requests. The EIRs give the public access to environmental information held by public authorities in the UK.

In response to Mr Webster's request for information on the use of hydrogen for heating homes, DESNZ confirmed it held four reports but refused to release them on the basis that the reports related to decisions which were still in the process of being made.

Mr Webster took DESNZ to the Information Tribunal to argue for the release of the reports, but shortly before a hearing on the case in June 2025 DESNZ released three of the reports.

Mr Webster says the reports should have been published proactively under regulation 4 of the EIR, which requires the government to “progressively make [environmental] information available to the public” where it is relevant to the framing of major environmental proposals.

Mr Webster argues the information he requested falls under this remit, given it concerns how people's homes will be heated in the future, and that it should not have required him chasing DESNZ for an extended period of time.

In March 2026, Mr Webster filed a claim with the High Court arguing DESNZ's interpretation of its regulation 4 duty to share information is too narrow, and that it should be doing more to proactively publish important environmental information.

The claim will now be heard in a permission hearing in the High Court on 15 October 2026.

Ben Webster said:

“By hiding key reports on our greatest environmental problems, the government is making it harder for the public to take part in finding and implementing the most effective solutions.

“Reports on the interlinked climate and wildlife crises should not be kept secret just because it is politically inconvenient to release them. Ministers are ignoring our legal rights to have timely access to important environmental information and this case seeks to hold them to account for that failure.”

Ben Webster is represented by Leigh Day environment team solicitors Julia Eriksen and Lily Hartley-Matthews. Julia Eriksen said:

"Regulation 4 of the EIR requires public authorities to proactively make certain environmental information available to the public, without a member of the public having to request it. Our client spent two years chasing DESNZ to publish these reports which concern major environmental policy which may determine the future of how we heat our homes. After receiving the reports, Mr Webster felt it was clear that the information should have been shared proactively as part of the government's EIR duty. He is now challenging DESNZ's interpretation of these regulations, which he argues is too narrow."

Ben Webster is crowdfunding to support his legal claim.