The Government received a total of 2 820 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the second quarter of 2024, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (December 31).
The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of June 2024 amounted to 127 696. Of these, 7 827 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 6 346 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information or cannot confirm or deny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, 2024, 660 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.
Among the 112 863 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 109 571 requests (97.1 per cent) were met, either in full (106 602 requests) or in part (2 969 requests), and 3 292 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 second quarter of 2024, the Ombudsman received 20 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 18 complaints, among which two were partially substantiated, 15 were concluded by mediation or inquiries (including two cases with inadequacies found), and one was assessed and closed. As at June 30, 2024, the Ombudsman's investigations on 13 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.
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