Press Releases (3743)

     The Government received a total of 1,283 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the third quarter of 2015, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (March 23).

     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of September 2015 amounted to 48,854. Of these, 2,853 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 2,220 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information. As at September 30, 2015, 193 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.

     Among the 43,588 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 42,582 requests (97.7 per cent) were met, either in full (41,657 requests) or in part (925 requests), and 1,006 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 third quarter of 2015, the Ombudsman received 18 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 14 complaints. Of these 14 completed cases, one was substantiated, one was partially substantiated, and 12 were settled after inquiries by the Ombudsman. As at September 30, 2015, the Ombudsman was still investigating 16 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, March 23, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:01

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