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Statistics on Code on Access to Information for fourth quarter of 2015

The Government received a total of 1,237 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the fourth quarter of 2015, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (June 22).

The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of December 2015 amounted to 50,091. Of these, 2,913 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 2,291 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information. As at December 31, 2015, 158 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.

Among the 44,729 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 43,697 requests (97.7 per cent) were met, either in full (42,746 requests) or in part (951 requests), and 1,032 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 fourth quarter of 2015, the Ombudsman received 21 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 15 complaints. Of these 15 completed cases, four were substantiated, three were unsubstantiated, six were settled after inquiries by the Ombudsman and two complaints were not pursued by the Ombudsman/outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction. As at December 31, 2015, the Ombudsman was still investigating 22 complaint cases.

"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/Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:08

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