The Freedom of Information Act
Eligible persons are entitled to submit Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all established Public Authorities, including those listed under the Ministry for Finance.
Submitting a Request / Complaint
The Malta Statistics Authority
The Malta Statistics Authority (MSA) is the entity responsible for regulating and supervising the production of official statistics, as established by the MSA Act, Cap. 422 of the Laws of Malta. The MSA’s primary objective is to safeguard NSO’s independence as the office responsible for producing official statistics in Malta. The Chairman is the legal and judicial representative of the Authority. The formulation of the MSA board as also specified in the MSA Act
For further reference the functions of the MSA are as prescribed in the MSA Act article 7 (1).
General description of the categories of documents held:
- Minutes of meetings,
- Disciplinary cases
- Tender documents,
- Procurement files,
- Contracts with external suppliers,
- Recruitment files,
- Human resource matters.
Information to be Provided
When submitting an FOI Request, applicants will be required, apart from providing contact details, to give an indication of the document / information that they wish to obtain. They will also need to indicate the format in which they wish to receive such document / information, namely as a hard copy/print-out, as an electronic copy, in the form of a summary / excerpt of contents or by on-site inspection of the document / information in question. Copies of the ID card or passport and/or additional documentation, as deemed necessary, may be requested by the MSA, in the case of requests relating specifically to the individual, individual’s assets, interests and/or right of access.
Types of Requests
In essence, one may ask for any article that is held by MSA and on which information has been recorded in whatever form, including electronic data, images, scale models and other visual representations, and audio or video recordings, regardless of whether the information can be read, seen, heard or retrieved with or without the aid of any other article or device. One may also ask for documentation which contains policies, principles, rules, or guidelines in accordance with which decisions or recommendations are made in respect of members of the public (including bodies corporate and employees of MSA in their personal capacity). Furthermore, eligible persons have the right to request information (in the form of a written statement) on a decision or recommendation made in their respect or in respect of a body corporate which they represent.
Acknowledgements
FOI requests will be duly acknowledged by the MSA. The acknowledgement forms will include a unique reference number and an indication of the date by when the response will be given. The forms shall also include specific information related to the MSA, such as its address, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, opening hours and also details of its internal complaints’ procedure.
Checks to be carried out by MSA
On receipt of the application form, MSA will verify whether the request qualifies as an FOI request and will inform the applicant accordingly if this is not the case. If it transpires that additional information / documentation is required, applicants will be contacted by the Authority to whom the request has been submitted and they will be provided with all possible assistance to ensure that such request complies with the provisions of the Act. This notwithstanding, when submitting an FOI request, applicants are not required to provide any justifications for requesting any documentation / information.
The MSA will also verify whether the requested document / information is held at its end. If this is not the case MSA will seek to identify the proper entity to whom the request should be submitted and will transfer such application accordingly (informing the applicant in the process). If no alternative entity is identified (meaning that the document / information cannot be traced at any Public Authority) the applicant will be informed accordingly.
Processing of request
Once it establishes that a request is an FOI request and can be addressed from its end, MSA will determine whether it can provide the applicant with the document / information requested (in full or in part) or whether it will refuse the request. Prior to taking a decision in this regard, MSA shall consider whether any of the exemptions listed in the FOI Act apply. The MSA will submit notification of whether the request will be accepted or not within 20 working days from its receipt. An additional 20 working days extension can be further applied, bringing up the total to a maximum of 40 working days from the date of the receipt of the original request.
Payment of Fee
When submitting a response to the applicant, the MSA shall indicate whether any fees apply. If applicable, such fees shall cover only the costs related to making a document available to the applicant, namely hours of processing, costs of photocopies / faxes and digital media and costs related to inspections. Notwithstanding the above, the total applicable fee shall not exceed €40. No additional fees can be incurred for submitting applications or complaints.
The application of fees is regulated by Fees Charged by Public Authorities for Access to Documents Regulations
Remedial Action
If the applicant is not satisfied with the response provided by MSA vis-à-vis its request, the applicant is entitled to submit a complaint. If, subsequently, the applicant remains unsatisfied with the response received, s/he may lodge an appeal with the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC). If the applicant remains dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeal s/he may appeal to the Information and Data Protection Tribunal and, subsequently, to the Court of Appeal.
The FOI Act, lists the following as reasons for complaints:
- The Public Authority has applied an extension to the 20-working day deadline to notify the application whether access would be given to the document / information requested,
- The Public Authority has imposed a fee which is deemed to be excessive,
- The document is not being provided in the requested format,
- The request is being refused (for e.g. request not deemed to be an FOI request),
- The Public Authority does not respect the 20 working days deadline (or the deadline indicated in the notification of extension, if applicable) for submitting a response.
Applicants may submit a complaint through the Office of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPS) website by clicking here.
Receiving documentation / information
Whenever MSA communicates a decision to an Applicant that access to a document / information will be granted, the applicant shall also be invited to effect payment of fees (if applicable). Within 10 working days following payment, the MSA will provide the document / information in the same format as the applicant had originally requested or, if this is not possible, in any other format deemed appropriate by the MSA. Applicants who submit requests through the FOI portal (www.foi.gov.mt) may be provided with the possibility of downloading the document / information directly from the site.
If no fee will be charged, the document / information will be provided within 10 working days following notification. The request shall be considered to have been abandoned by the applicant if payment is not effected within 20 working days following notification.
Information provided according to Article 17 of the Freedom of Information Act may be viewed by accessing the above links or by contacting the Principal Freedom of Information Officer, National Statistics Office, Lascaris, Valletta, VLT 2000.
