The Government received a total of 2,764 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the second quarter of 2019, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (January 10).
 
     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of June 2019 amounted to 73,749. Of these, 4,292 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 3,615 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information or cannot confirm or deny the existence of information. As at June 30, 2019, 344 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.

     Among the 65,498 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 63,454 requests (96.9 per cent) were met, either in full (61,883 requests) or in part (1,571 requests), and 2,044 requests (3.1 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 2019, the Ombudsman received 16 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 13 complaints, among which four were substantiated, four were partially substantiated and five were settled after inquiries by the Ombudsman. As at June 30, 2019, the Ombudsman's investigations on 28 complaints were ongoing.

     "The Code has provided an effective framework for the public to seek access to information held by the Government," the spokesman said.

Ends/Friday, January 10, 2020
Issued at HKT 16:00

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