Scottish public bodies have been warned not to take court action they are likely to lose…advice that would probably apply to public bodies nationally.
The Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton said: “I would, of course, urge all Scottish public authorities to think carefully about the merits of an appeal before pursuing an FOI case through the courts, given both the cost to the public purse and the inevitable delays that will arise for those who seek their information.”
In 2019 Ms Sturgeon referred herself to independent adviser James Hamilton following concerns that she failed to record meetings and phone calls she had with her predecessor Alex Salmond and his former chief of staff after he was the subject of complaints from two civil servants.
Mr Hamilton investigated and issued a report in March 2021 in which he determined Ms Sturgeon did not breach the code. However, shortly after Mr Hamilton’s findings were published in March 2021 an FOI request to the government sought the publication of all evidence gathered by him.
The Scottish Government claimed it didn’t hold the information. The Scottish Information Commissioner decided it did and a court agreed.
Concerns raised
At least 18 women were killed in the last five years by men who were already known to police forces in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
An investigation by ITV Calendar has identified 11 cases in the West Yorkshire Police area between 2019 and 2023 where women died at the hands of partners, ex-partners or family members who were previously reported to the force.
There were three cases in both the Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire force areas, and one in the Humberside Police area.
In 15 cases, the victims themselves went to police. At least four of the killers were on bail at the time they committed the offences.
Barred from social housing
Thousands of homeless families are trapped in temporary accommodation because of a little-known rule that leaves them banned from applying for social housing.
i can reveal that nearly 3,800 households are barred from applying for a permanent place to live through their local council because they are in debt.
This includes more than 1,600 families with children, according to data provided under the Freedom of Information (FOI) act and seen by i.
Unspent cash
New HBF research estimates that local authorities in England and Wales are sitting on over £8 billion of infrastructure payments by developers, including over £6bn from Section 106 agreements and almost £2bn raised through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).
The research is based on a Freedom of Information (FOI) survey which received responses from 208 local authorities. The responses show that, on average, councils hold £19 million in unspent Section 106 contributions.
At a time when much of the existing school estate is unsafe and in disrepair, the results also suggest that £2bn of Section 106 contributions earmarked for new schools, enhancements and educational facilities is held unspent, including £143m held by Oxfordshire County Council.
Body cams
The number of police body-worn cameras has dropped in the past two years, figures show ahead of a delayed national rollout.
According to a freedom of information request by the Scottish Conservatives, 600 cameras are being used by armed officers, while 249 are in the north east division.
A request from the party in 2022, however, showed 941 were in operation.
Hospital complaints
Northampton General Hospital has seen a variety of complaints from patients since 2021. According to the data, the most common issues raised in formal complaints include:
- Clinical Treatment: This remains the leading cause of complaints, with 258 recorded in the 2023-2024 financial year.
- Communications: Patients expressed dissatisfaction with communication practices, which included 116 complaints last year.
- Admissions, discharge, and transfer arrangements: This category saw a decline to 26 complaints in 2023-2024, but it has been a significant issue in previous years.
Off work
Police Scotland have lost more than one million days to staff absence in the past four years, figures show.
Since 2020, 1,020,930 working days have been lost by staff absence, with each full year between April 2020 and April this year showing at least 200,000 days lost.
Of those lost days, 239,507 were as a result of “psychological disorders”, according to the figures released by Police Scotland to the Scottish Conservatives under freedom of information legislation.
Delay repay
Compensation paid to travellers on the Caledonian Sleeper reached almost £1 million in less than a year.
The Scottish Conservatives have accused the Scottish Government of “running Scotland’s rail services into the ground”.
The figures obtained by the party through freedom of information (FOI) showed that £965,672 was paid out to passengers hit by delays between April 24 2023 and April 5 2024.
However, Transport Scotland has said the figures represent a “very small proportion” of all journeys made in the same period.
Beach hut woes
Is a beach hut still a beach hut if it doesn’t have a view of the beach? Possibly, but it’s not a very enticing one.
A series of beach huts built by Cornwall Council for £125,000 have never been rented out or made any money. The timber huts were built on land adjacent to Par Sands beach, near St Austell, six years ago with locals saying then that they would be a waste of money.
There was criticism over the money being spent on them as well as on the chosen location where they were built – a piece of land which sits behind the dunes at the edge of the beach. It’s next to a public toilet block and does not have a view of the beach.
Now, six years on from their construction, a member of the public has submitted a Freedom of Information (FoI) Act request which has revealed how the council spent a six-figure sum building them but has never rented them out successfully, nor made a penny. While there is a list of people interested in renting one, no one wants to manage the rentals and the council hasn’t done so itself.
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