Summaries of selected statements | 83
ments on case processing set out in the Public Administration Act and the Access to Public Administration
Files Act. These included the requirements to give
grounds for decisions and guidance on appeal and the
duty of registration.
The Ombudsman recommended that the Ministry of
Higher Education and Science take steps to ensure
that the Agency organised its processing of applications to comply with the requirements of administrative law.
In addition, the Ombudsman stated that he assumed
that provisions on the earliest date on which an application could be submitted – which were published
solely on the authorities’ websites and mentioned in
‘minSU’ – would be stipulated in an executive order.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
No statements on cases concluded in 2018 have been
published.
Ministry of Immigration and Integration
The following statements on cases concluded in 2018
have been published:
20189. Incorrect guidance on www.borger.dk1
about right to cash benefit or integration benefit
Following press coverage about allegedly misleading
guidance on www.borger.dk about the right to cash/
education benefit or integration benefit, the Ombudsman opened a case on his own initiative with the Ministry of Immigration and Integration and the Agency for
Digitisation about the guidance.
The Ombudsman stated that it was regrettable that
the guidance on www.borger.dk only became correct
after he had contacted the authorities.
At the time of the press coverage and the Ombudsman’s letter asking the authorities for statements
on the matter, it was stated on the relevant page of
www.borger.dk that www.borger.dk (i.e. the Agency
for Digitisation) was responsible for the content of the
page. However, the Ombudsman found that in a situation such as the present, the primary responsibility
for initiating revisions of information on www.borger.dk
in connection with, for instance, changes in legislation
and practices had to rest with the authority which has
the remit for the relevant area, in this case the Ministry
of Immigration and Integration.
The purpose of guidance on www.borger.dk is to give
citizens an overview and coherence in their digital
communication with the public sector. However, the
Ombudsman pointed out that, in addition, the work of
the individual municipalities with their own websites
would presumably be easier if – when choosing to
provide information about the law in an area – they
could provide correct information via a link to
www.borger.dk.
2018-14. Refusal to read out internal e-mail which
had been read out previously in another context
The special advisor to the Minister for Immigration
and Integration read out an internal e-mail during a
telephone conversation with a Member of Parliament
from the Minister’s party. The purpose of his reading
out the e-mail was to help the Member of Parliament
as he was to take part in a television debate about the
issue which was the subject of the e-mail.
When a citizen who took an interest in the issue subsequently asked to have the e-mail read out as well, his
request was refused. The Ministry disagreed with the
man that it was required under the principle of administrative law on equality to read out the e-mail to him.
The Access to Public Administration Files Act does
not govern questions of entitlement to obtain information verbally from authorities, for instance by having
documents which are exempt from access read out;
1) A common public-sector portal providing a single point of access to the authorities’
digital self-service solutions and information about public authorities and services
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