PATI Information Statements On ICO Website

Information Commissioner Gitanjali S. Gutierrez said that public authorities have “upheld their responsibility to provide PATI Information Statements for the public,” with the documents available on their website.

“One of the first requirements that the Act placed on public authorities was to provide a detailed Information Statement describing the authority’s functions, powers, duties, organizational structure, services, programmes, types of records held, manuals and decision making documents,” the statement said.

“Importantly, the statements also provide the name and contact details for the “Information Officer” for each public authority, who is the person responsible for receiving requests and assisting requesters.

“The Information Statements are available on various public authorities’ websites, the Information Commissioner’s Office [ICO] website www.ico.bm and www.bermuda.io.”

“Today, the ready access to this information is a concrete example of how the PATI Act promotes transparency and good governance. When people look at these statements, the PATI Act will go from being an idea to being something real.”

“In addition to providing advice on how to file a PATI Act request, the Information Commissioner’s Office website [ww.ico.bm] includes a comprehensive list of the public authorities currently subject to the PATI Act, along with links to their Information Statements.”

Commissioner Gutierrez said, “The Information Statements reflect a tremendous amount of work by public authorities. Overall, the obligations under the PATI Act are being taken very seriously. This first step is a good indicator of the public authorities’ commitment to the effective implementation of the PATI Act.”

“The Information Statements themselves give the public a lot details about how Ministries, departments, boards, councils and other public authorities operate and make decisions. Much of this information has not been available to the public before.”

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