Statistics on Code on Access to Information for first quarter of 2024

     The Government received a total of 2 648 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the first quarter of 2024, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (October 18).

     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of March 2024 amounted to 124 876. Of these, 7 544 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 6 235 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information or cannot confirm or deny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 March 31, 2024, 613 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.

     Among the 110 484 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 107 247 requests (97.1 per cent) were met, either in full (104 313 requests) or in part (2 934 requests), and 3 237 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 first quarter of 2024, the Ombudsman received 14 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 23 complaints, among which two were unsubstantiated, one was partially substantiated and 20 were concluded by inquiries (including seven cases with inadequacies found). As at March 31, 2024, the Ombudsman's investigations on 11 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.