More appeals
The Commissioners received 28 approaches during the year. Twenty-one were ineligible either because they fell outside the ambit of the Code or were not made by civil servants. This echoes the pattern that has been reported in the Commissioners’ Annual Reports over the last few years.
However, the fact that we received seven approaches that were legitimate under the Code, even though only one of these was brought to decision during the period, is a significant increase. In each of the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 there were no approaches that were investigated under the Code. In 2006-07 there were two.
The Commissioners have noted in previous Annual Reports our surprise at the low numbers of eligible appeals that reach us. It is possible that the increase this year is a result of the increased activity in promoting the Code, both by the Commissioners and by departments and agencies.