Statistics on Code on Access to Information for first quarter of 2016
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 The Government received a total of 1,122 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the first quarter of 2016, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (October 4).
The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of March 2016 amounted to 51,213. Of these, 2,980 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 2,349 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information. As at March 31, 2016, 194 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.
Among the 45,690 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 44,635 requests (97.7 per cent) were met, either in full (43,664 requests) or in part (971 requests), and 1,055 requests (2.3 per cent) were refused.
Any member of the public who is dissatisfied with the response of a bureau/department under the Code may request that the matter be reviewed. He or she may also lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman.
In the first quarter of 2016, the Ombudsman received 11 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 21 complaints, among which one was substantiated, one was partially substantiated, two were unsubstantiated, 13 were settled after inquiries by the Ombudsman, and four were not pursued by the Ombudsman or outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction. As at March 31, 2016, the Ombudsman's investigations on 12 complaints were ongoing.
"The statistics show that the Code has provided an effective framework for the public to seek access to information held by the Government," the spokesman said.
Ends/Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:00
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