Police the most complained about Government body

More than twice as many Official Information Act complaints have been made about police than any other government organisation.

The office of the ombudsmen's annual report said 128 Official Information Act complaints were made about police in the year to the end of June, compared with 81 complaints the previous year.

Second on the list of most-complained-about government organisations was the Social Development Ministry, which drew 59 complaints this year (41 last year).

It was followed by:

* District health boards: 50 complaints this year, 49 last year.

* Labour Department: 43 this year, 44 last year.

* Health Ministry: 40 this year, 21 last year.

* ACC: 39 this year, 41 last year.

* Child, Youth and Family Services: 35 this year, 53 last year.

Social Development and Employment Minister Steve Maharey, Education Minister Trevor Mallard and Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia each prompted 18 complaints.

The Official Information Act took effect in July, 1983, and allows people to request information from government ministers, departments and organisations.

Many government organisations approached would not answer questions about the volume of or the way they handled such requests.

Instead, they logged the questions as requests under the act, which gives them 20 working days to respond.

Those that did answer the questions generally received fewer than 100 requests a year, a small fraction of which they refused to answer, prompting complaints to the ombudsmen's office.

The police statement of intent shows police expect 5000 to 6000 requests in the 2004-2005 year.

A Health Ministry spokesman said it logged 734 requests in the year to the end of June and 86 per cent were answered on time. Some delays were triggered by the amount and complexity of information sought and requests not being specific enough.

Deputy ombudsman Leo Donnelly said the list of government organisations most complained about changed constantly, depending on topical issues and announcements made.

"I suppose one could say that the police have been in the news over the last 12 months perhaps more so than at other times," Mr Donnelly said.

Police and the Social Development and Health ministries often generated complaints because of frequent dealings with the public.

The ombudsmen's office received 973 complaints in the year to June 30 -- a third about delays and half for outright refusals. It did not know what proportion of requests prompted complaints, and it was hard to tell which organisations struggled to cope.

The ability of most government organisations to respond had at some stage been tested.

"The nature of requests has changed because there's been a move toward more managed information. Requesters are less trusting of the PR statement," Mr Donnelly said.

- NZPA