Criticism of the County Administrative Board of Västmanland for failing to provide access to official documents on site and free of charge

Summary of the decision: A person submitted a request to access official documents at the offices of the County Administrative Board, which would have been free of charge. The agency informed the person that, as there was no computer available to the public, the documents would need to be printed out, which would incur a fee.

In his decision, the Parliamentary Ombudsman states that it is the responsibility of the agency to make official documents available in an appropriate manner when an individual requests access to the documents on the agency’s premises. If the document is only available in digital form, the agency needs to provide a terminal for the use of the individual, print out a copy or otherwise ensure that the document can be accessed. According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, this must be free of charge, even if producing the document is time-consuming or if it is necessary to print out a copy. The fact that the County Administrative Board considered the request to constitute a large order did not in itself entitle the agency to choose a form of disclosure other than that stipulated in the request.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman holds that the County Administrative Board should have seen to it that the complainant could access the requested documents on the agency’s premises promptly and without charge. The County Administrative Board is criticised for how the request was dealt with.