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

     The Government received a total of 3 249 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the second quarter of 2023, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (January 19).
      
     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of June 2023 amounted to 116 201. Of these, 6 868 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 5 798 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information or cannot confirm or deny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, 2023, 686 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.

     Among the 102 849 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 99 770 requests (97 per cent) were met, either in full (97 010 requests) or in part (2 760 requests), and 3 079 requests (3 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 2023, the Ombudsman received 17 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 14 complaints, among which 13 were concluded by inquiries or mediation (including five cases with inadequacies found), and one was assessed and closed. As at June 30, 2023, the Ombudsman's investigations on 17 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.