Post-election, I feel like we’re just waiting for how long it takes for the Conservatives to discover the joys of FOI…and Labour to decide it’s just a load of hassle (after sending a load of requests in the run up to the election).
The stories coming out of FOIs this week…
Asylum hotels
Clearsprings is one of the largest hotel operators in the UK. By February 2023, it was accommodating around 24,000 asylum seekers in taxpayer-funded hotels, working with a network of subcontractors, and the company was generating a higher turnover than Travelodge.
New documents disclosed by the Home Office after a lengthy freedom of information battle reveal that, in the first few months of 2023, Clearsprings residents made numerous allegations of mistreatment by hotel staff, describing racist abuse, physical assault and confiscated belongings. Others compared their experiences to being in prison.
Inappropriate relationships
Nearly 100 prison employees in England and Wales have faced disciplinary action, including 63 who were fired, for inappropriate relationships with inmates since 2017.
An investigation by openDemocracy reveals that such relationships are increasing in English and Welsh prisons, with 92 prison staffers being sacked or sanctioned – such as with written warnings – between 2017 and 2023. The annual number of staff disciplinaries rose from 11 in 2017/18 to 17 in 2022/23, according to data we obtained through Freedom of Information requests.
Vapes
Almost 16,000 illegal vape products have been seized by Hampshire County Council in a 14-month period, new figures have shown.
Data released following a Freedom of Information request shows 15,999 illegal vapes were seized across Hampshire between January 1, 2023 and February 29 this year.
The county ranked as the eighth highest for seizing the banned products, research by Vape Superstore has shown.
Radiation risk
After more than 400 prisoners were evacuated from Dartmoor prison due to concerns over high levels of radioactive radon gas, the first men have been transferred back – with the windows opened to lessen the risk.
A Freedom of Information request submitted by the BBC found that peak radon levels detected at Dartmoor in 2020 and 2023 were 10 times the recommended workplace limit. Radon is measured in becquerels per cubic metre of air (bq/m3). The average level in UK homes is 20 bq/m3, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), while Ionising Radiation Regulations 2017 set limits of 200bq/m3 for ‘domestic settings’ and 300bq/m3 for workplaces.
Figures released to the BBC showed that in 2020, according to a measuring device in one area of Dartmoor prison, the average annual radon level peaked at 2,988bq/m3.
Abandoned cars
More than 1,400 vehicles have been abandoned on the roads of Teignbridge over the past three years. That means approximately 10 vehicles a week are being reported to the district council, a councillor says.
Just a fraction of these cars are collected and taken away by Teignbridge, according to Devon councillor Alan Connett. Responding to a Freedom of Information request, Teignbridge admitted it had accepted just 342 of the cars as abandoned.
The council said that just 70 were actually removed over the three years from April 2021 to March 2024.
Private schooling
The cost of sending children with special educational needs to private schools has tripled in the past five years, an expert on the subject claimed last month.
Peter Read, a former grammar school head, says figures from a Freedom of Information request show the cost of such provision was £28m in 2019 and soared to £84m in 2022-23.
Many driving tests
A record number of learner drivers are taking six or more attempts to pass their practical test, official figures show. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) found that 93,204 people took their driving test six or more times from 2023 to 2024.
One person had spent £1,700 on 74 driving theory tests and is yet to pass, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by AA Driving School.
DVSA data showed more than 13,000 candidates took between 10 and 20 attempts to get the all-clear from an examiner, while 269 needed over 20. A further 16 people needed more than 30 attempts.
A little treat
North Yorkshire Council and its predecessors received £104,000 from vending machines that sell fizzy drinks, crisps and chocolate bars at its leisure centres.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service submitted a freedom of information request to the council asking it how much money each site has made from these vending machines since 2021.
According to the figures received, Craven Leisure in Skipton has generated the most income at £26,926.
Image by Alexander Grey on Pexels
