*******************************************
The Government received a total of 526 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the second quarter of 2011, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (August 11).
The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of June 2011 amounted to 31,424. Of these, 1,781 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 1,280 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information. As at June 30, 2011, 70 requests were still being processed by bureaux and departments.
Among the 28,293 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 27,616 requests (98 per cent) were met, either in full (26,971 requests) or in part (645 requests), and 677 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 second quarter of 2011, the Ombudsman received 12 complaints relating to requests for information.
The Ombudsman completed investigation of eight complaint cases in this quarter. Of these eight completed cases, six were concluded and settled after inquiries by the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman discontinued investigation into the other two cases after considering the circumstances of the cases. As at June 30, 2011, 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/Thursday, August 11, 2011
Issued at HKT 11:38
NNNN
