*******************************************
The Government received a total of 1,090 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the second quarter of 2013, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (September 11).
The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of June 2013 amounted to 37,934. Of these, 2,150 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 1,647 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information. As at June 30, 2013, 115 requests were still being processed by bureaux and departments.
Among the 34,022 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 33,224 requests (97.7 per cent) were met, either in full (32,483 requests) or in part
(741 requests), and 798 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 second quarter of 2013, the Ombudsman received 24 complaints relating to requests for information.
The Ombudsman completed the investigation of 12 complaint cases this quarter. Of these 12 completed cases, one was substantiated, two were partially substantiated, one was unsubstantiated, and six were concluded and settled after inquiries by the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman did not undertake investigation into two other cases after considering their circumstances. As at June 30, 2013, the Ombudsman was still investigating 25 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/Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:15
NNNN
