The Government received 1,298 requests under the Code on Access to Information in the second quarter, the Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Bureau said today.
The total number of requests received since the code's introduction in March 1995 and up to the end of June amounted to 42,803. Of these, 2,405 were withdrawn and 1,896 covered cases in which the agencies concerned did not hold the information sought, while 121 requests were still being processed.
Of the 38,381 requests which covered information held by agencies and to which they had responded, 37,477 were met either in full (36,675) or in part (802) and 904 were refused.
Anyone who is dissatisfied with the response of a bureau or department under the code can request that the matter be reviewed. They can also lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman received 17 complaints relating to requests for information in the second quarter.
During the period, the Ombudsman completed investigating 17 complaints. Ten were concluded and settled. As at June 30, the Ombudsman was still investigating 14 cases.
