10 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 There has been a long range of new questions to decide on for both the authorities and the Ombudsman. However, the authorities have exerted themselves regarding the correct use of the Act and the fast processing of requests for access to files. The latter is after all a prominent requirement under the new Act, particularly for the sake of the media. The percentage of criticism in access request cases ‒ meaning the percentage of investigated cases resulting in criticism or recommendation ‒ has been high, namely about 50. In comparison, 2014 showed a percentage of about 30 in general cases involving criticism. First and foremost, this must be seen as an indication that the new Act is difficult and that many problematic issues must find their own level. Contributing to this development will be an important task for the Ombudsman institution over the coming years. When the Act came into force, we were determined that, in line with the authorities, we will be quick. We set the target that complainants must have a reply within 20 working days after their case is ready for assessment. For complicated cases the target is 40 days. Our average case processing time in 2014 was about 22 days, and we are very happy with that. The undoubtedly most controversial provision in the new Act is the so-called regulation on ministerial advice and assistance in section 24. In a separate article in this Annual Report, Special Legal Advisor Lise Puggaard describes the principal problems which this regulation has caused so far. In-house, the second big theme in 2014 was an extensive restructuring of the Ombudsman institution and the introduction of new methods for operational control, etc. In the 2013 Annual Report, I have described the underlying principles ‒ not least the regard for a fast and efficient processing of the citizens’ cases ‒ and we are now well underway with the practical implementation. The only major element of the new management system which we did not achieve in 2014 was the establishment of a concept for management by objectives and results. This will be completed in the course of 2015, taking us far along the road towards the overall modernisation of the Ombudsman institution that we began a couple of years ago. In addition to this, we have been working on methods that will resolve cases more efficiently and informally than by draining and resource-intensive investigations ‒ for example by passing along clearly well-based complaints to the authorities to see if they will consider the case one more time. In another article