One week after the Island’s new Public Access to Information regime came into effect, the first requests for information have been submitted to the PATI implementation team.

Although PATI became law on April 1, the office’s website is expected to become live this morning — and some of the information statements required from each public authority are still being reviewed by information commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez.

No official number of requests filed was available yet.

“So far, it’s all gone very well from my end,” Ms Gutierrez reported yesterday. “The vast majority of public authorities have their information statements available now — they are thorough and provide a lot of information so that people should be able to get started in filing requests.”

The first notices that information statements are available have been gazetted in The Royal Gazette.

Those notices signify that the statements — which outline the types of information available and not available, along with the authority’s structure and the requisite information officers to contact — have been submitted to Ms Gutierrez’s office, as well as to the Bermuda National Library and archives. The bulk of the statements have proven to be “very comprehensive”, the commissioner said.

Much of Ms Gutierrez’s focus over the ensuing two months is likely to be concentrated on reviewing statements in tandem with information officers, to identify gaps or areas needing revision, along with getting her own office fully staffed and running.

The commissioner’s website, www.ico.bm, is expected to go live today and will be updated as statements are reviewed.

PATI information will also be posted on the main government portal, www.gov.bm.