Press Releases

     The Government received a total of 542 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the third quarter of 2010, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (December 9).
 
     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of September 2010 amounted to 29,821. Of these, 1,637 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors, 1,188 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information and 59 requests were still being processed by bureaux and departments.

     Among the 26,937 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 26,296 requests (98%) were met, either in full (25,678 requests) or in part (618 requests). 641 requests (2%) were refused.

     Any member of the public who is dissatisfied with a bureau/department's response under the Code may request for the matter be reviewed. He/she may also lodge a complaint with The Ombudsman.

     In the third quarter of 2010, The Ombudsman received 10 complaints relating to requests for information.
    
     The Ombudsman completed the investigation of 13 complaint cases in this quarter. Of these 13 completed cases, 12 were concluded and settled after preliminary inquiries by The Ombudsman. Separately, one case was withdrawn by the complainant. As at September 30, 2010, The Ombudsman was still investigating 10 complaint cases.
 
     "The statistics show that Government bureaux and departments have been complying with the Code to the general satisfaction of members of the public," the spokesman said.

Ends/Thursday, December 9, 2010