Statistics on Code on Access to Information for fourth quarter of 2023

     The Government received a total of 2 807 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the fourth quarter of 2023, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (July 5).
      
     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of December 2023 amounted to 122 228. Of these, 7 335 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 6 104 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information or cannot confirm or deny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 December 31, 2023, 572 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.

     Among the 108 217 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 105 040 requests (97.1 per cent) were met, either in full (102 156 requests) or in part (2 884 requests), and 3 177 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 fourth quarter of 2023, the Ombudsman received 19 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 15 complaints, among which two were partially substantiated, 11 were concluded by inquiries (including two cases with inadequacies found), and two were assessed and closed. As at December 31, 2023, the Ombudsman’s investigations on 20 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.