The Government received a total of 3 239 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the third quarter of 2024, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (July 4).
 
     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of September 2024 amounted to 130 935. Of these, 8 226 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 6 482 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information or cannot confirm or deny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 September 30, 2024, 790 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.

     Among the 115 437 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 112 104 requests (97.1 per cent) were met, either in full (109 073 requests) or in part (3 031 requests), and 3 333 requests (2.9 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 2024, the Ombudsman received 16 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 25 complaints, among which one was partially substantiated, 20 were concluded by mediation or inquiries (including one case with inadequacies found), and four were assessed and closed. As at September 30, 2024, the Ombudsman's investigations on four 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, July 4, 2025
Issued at HKT 18:22

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