Press Releases

     The Government received a total of 549 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the fourth quarter of 2010, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (February 11).

     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of December 2010 amounted to 30,370. Of these, 1,688 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors, 1,217 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information and 52 requests were still being processed by bureaux and departments.

     Among the 27,413 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments responded to, 26,762 requests (98%) were met, either in full (26,127 requests) or in part (635 requests). A total of 651 requests (2%) were refused.

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

     In the fourth quarter of 2010, the Ombudsman received nine complaints relating to requests for information.
    
     The Ombudsman completed investigation of 12 complaint cases in this quarter. Of these 12 completed cases, nine were concluded and settled after preliminary inquiries by the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman decided not to conduct investigation into two cases having considered the circumstances of the cases and discontinued investigation into one case after initial inquiry. As at December 31, 2010, the Ombudsman was still investigating 11 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/Friday, February 11, 2011