Results from the 100 Question Campaign
Madrid, 2 April 2012 - Spain is the only country in Europe with more than a million inhabitants that does not have an access to information law. This data shows that the presenting of 113 questions to public entities yielded, in a disappointing 54% of cases, complete administrative silence, the lack of any response by Spain’s public institutions, at national, regional, and local level. Between 2010 and now, there have been 5 studies on transparency in Spain’s public institutions, and none has recorded notable positive change.
On average, an administrative silence is the response to 50% of information requests sent to Spain’s public institutions, and only 20% receive a satisfactory reply to the questions asked.
The 100 Questions Campaign, a study conducted between 2010 and 2011, in which 113 questions were sent to different public institutions across Spain, served to confirm this tendency and to emphasise the need for Spain to approve a law concerning access to public information, one which is binding, and which above all includes a plan for implementation so that the law comes into force as soon as it is approved.
Amongst the questions asked through the 100 Questions Campaign, which were proposed by people who sent their questions to the Access Info Europe team, a third were about public spending and about the implementation and results of policies or action plans. This data reveals that there is a pattern to that information society considers most relevant and this must be taken into account at the time in which the future system of transparency in Spain is being sketched out; a strong emphasis should be put on the proactive publication of information, thus ensuring that Spain's system of transparency is one that is sustainable.
The 100 Questions Campaign has been very positive in that it motivated normal people to use the right of access to information in Spain, and in doing so to demand accountability in their leaders. To continue monitoring transparency in Spain and to facilitate access to information, Access Info Europe, with Civio, has recently launched the webpage tuderechoasaber.es, through which people can send information requests directly to Spain’s public institutions.
Download the complete report on the 100 Question Campaign here.
