102 | Annual Report 2018 The Ombudsman has now investigated the matter and concludes that the municipality did not infringe its em­ ployees’ freedom of expression. 2017, almost one in every 10 cases took more than 100 working days to process, and in several of these cases, the processing time was more than 200 working days. 21 June Remarks by Permanent Secretary about Access to Public Administration Files Act The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Interior made some remarks at an internal meeting in the Ministry some time ago about access for the public to information and documents in relation to work carried out by the Ministry. This was stated in several media reports. … Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee has summoned the Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior to a consultation about the remarks made by the Permanent Secretary. For this reason, the Ombudsman has informed those requesting that he open an investigation that he will await the consultation before deciding whether to take up the case. 29 June Ombudsman decides not to open case about remarks by Permanent Secretary in relation to Access to Public Administration Files Act The Parliamentary Ombudsman is not going to open an investigation of remarks in relation to the Access to Public Administration Files Act made by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Interior. 2 July Ombudsman calls for real and lasting improvements in response times of Ministry of Justice in cases about access to documents or information In many cases, journalists and others who request access from the Ministry of Justice to documents or information have to wait much too long for a reply. In The problem has existed for several years, and for this reason the Ombudsman has now expressed serious concern to the Ministry of Justice. He has also asked the Ministry for a statement about what specifically the Ministry is doing or intends to do to solve the problem. 4 July Ombudsman recommends initiatives to improve protection of legal rights of detained young people When a minor in a secure residential institution is placed in solitary confinement or otherwise subjected to the use of force, the institution should ensure that the incident is reported adequately and within the deadline for reporting such incidents. This is one of a number of recommendations made by the Parliamentary Ombudsman as part of his investigation of conditions for young people detained in secure residential institutions and local and state prisons. The Ombudsman’s recommendations are aimed at improving the protection of the legal rights of these young people. 5 July 15-year-old boy subjected to illegal monitoring by accommodation facility and municipality A 15-year-old boy who had been placed in care outside his home had his communication with his former foster family monitored for a prolonged period of time. The monitoring consisted, among other things, in staff of the accommodation facility in which the boy was placed taking screenshots of his mobile phone and writing down his conversations without his knowledge. The information was subsequently forwarded to Esbjerg Municipality, the boy’s home municipality.