Press Releases

     The Government received a total of 632 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the third quarter of 2011, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (November 22).

     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of September 2011 amounted to 32,056. Of these, 1,825 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 1,322 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information. As at September 30, 2011, 86 requests were still being processed by bureaux and departments.

     Among the 28,823 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 28,136 requests (98 per cent) were met, either in full (27,479 requests) or in part (657 requests), and 687 requests (2 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 2011, the Ombudsman received eight complaints relating to requests for information.
    
     The Ombudsman completed investigation of 13 complaint cases in this quarter. These 13 completed cases were concluded and settled after inquiries by the Ombudsman. As at September 30, 2011, the Ombudsman was still investigating eight 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/Tuesday, November 22, 2011