Watchdog critical of slow government response to press information request

The Information and Data Protection Commissioner has rebuked the Principal Permanent Secretary for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request within the time frames stipulated by law.
As Principal Permanent Secretary, Mario Cutajar is responsible for the oversight of the civil service, besides serving as Cabinet secretary.
In February, the Times of Malta filed a request asking Mr Cutajar for a copy of all public opinion polls commissioned by the government since March 2013. The government is bound by law to respond to such requests within 20 working days, though a further 20-day extension is possible.
In this case, the 20-day extension was triggered by Mr Cutajar on the basis that “the request for a larger number of documents necessitates a search thought a large number of documents”.
The Data Protection Commissioner noted that a reply was forthcoming 35 working days beyond the time frames stipulated in the Freedom of Information Act.

The request was rejected on the basis of an opt-out in the law that allows the government to withhold information submitted to Cabinet.
In his decision, the Data Protection Commissioner said he recognised the growing realisation of...