Refusals of data requests under act decline

Press, 28 February 1984, Page 4

Refusals of data requests under act decline

PA Wellington The number of requests for data under the Official Information Act that were refused or not wholly approved fell by about half during the second three months of the law’s operation.

Statistics released by the State Services Commission for the three months to December, 1983, after a survey of 174 departments or agencies, show that they refused or partly refused 360 requests for information, compared with 774 in the first three months.

The figures do not give any indication of the total number of requests made for information. They represent only the number of decisions which could be

subject to a review by the Ombudsman. Of the 174 departments or organisations surveyed, 42 made reviewable decisions. The second quarterly return of reviewable decisions for the three months to December shows: ® 123 refusals of official information (compared with 253 in the first . three months). © 74 modified approvals of official information (163). © 93 refusals of personal information (223). © 70 modified approvals of personal information (135).

© 16 conditional approvals of official information (28). Z 34 conditional ap-

provals of personal information (36). The return also reports that five corrections were made to personal files resulting from requests made under the act’s personal information provisions, compared with six in the September quarter. In another 11 cases (the same as for September) people had notations made to their personal files where a request to correct information was declined.

In addition, departments, under section 10 of the act, refused to either confirm or deny the existence of data in response to eight requests for personal information, and one case of official information.