| Statistics on Code on Access to Information for first quarter of 2017 |
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The Government received a total of 1,564 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the first quarter of 2017, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (October 6). The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of March 2017 amounted to 56,799. Of these, 3,319 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 2,684 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information. As at March 31, 2017, 263 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments. Among the 50,533 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 49,348 requests (97.7 per cent) were met, either in full (48,252 requests) or in part (1,096 requests), and 1,185 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 2017, the Ombudsman received 13 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 11 complaints, among which two were substantiated, eight were settled after inquiries by the Ombudsman, and one was not pursued by the Ombudsman or outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction. As at March 31, 2017, the Ombudsman's investigations on 15 complaints were ongoing. "The Code has provided an effective framework for the public to seek access to information held by the Government," the spokesman said. Ends/Friday, October 6, 2017 Issued at HKT 16:00 NNNN |