Slightly different this week. While the round-up of FOI stories is the same (see below), this is a chance to get creating them rather than just reading about them.
If you’ve ever thought an understanding of FOI requests would be a useful skill to have. Or you’ve seen a story in an FOI Friday round-up and wondered how you’d do something similar. Or there’s information a public body has that you’d like a chance to get your hands on. Then this is for you…
I’m running a FREE training session on Tuesday, March 18 between 7pm and 8pm (GMT) doing an intro to the Freedom of Information Act in the UK. I’ll be going through what the Act is, how to make a request and the things you can do if you don’t get a useful answer.
If this is of interest, you can sign up for the training here (there will also be a recording available if you’re interested but can’t make it to the live session).
Temporary housing spend
Over the last five years some 166 councils across Britain spent more than £1.6bn on temporary accommodation for homeless people when there was no social housing available.
The true total bill is likely to be higher, as only just over half of authorities across England, Wales and Scotland responded to freedom of information requests as part of a joint investigation by The i Paper and Inside Housing.
The data reveals the majority of the top 20 temporary accommodation providers in Britain were private companies. The largest provider was housing association Notting Hill Genesis (NHG), which was paid £84.8 million by councils between 2019/20 and 2023/24.
Children at risk
Freedom of Information requests showed that an estimated 48,067 babies, aged 0-2, were subject to referrals to children’s services in England due to specific fears over domestic abuse.
The figures, obtained by domestic abuse charity For Baby’s Sake and shared first with Channel 4 News, also revealed that 1,924 babies are removed and taken into care every year with domestic abuse cited as a factor.
Unsolved murders
A total of 28 murder cases across the Bradford district remain unsolved, West Yorkshire Police has revealed.
These cases are among 86 undetected murders across West Yorkshire, where those responsible have yet to be brought to justice.
All the murders remained unsolved as of December 2024, according to the reply to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Telegraph & Argus.
Knives in schools
More than 100 cases of children taking knives into South Yorkshire schools have been recorded over the past three years, according to police figures.
The data, which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showed that just three per cent of cases resulted in charges or a court summons being issued.
The figures, which were provided to the Local Democracy Reporting Service following a Freedom of Information request request, showed police were informed of 103 knives being taken into schools across the region between 2022 and 2024.
However, only three children were charged or summoned to court, while seven received youth cautions and 12 were given youth conditional cautions.
AirBnB for uni digs
UK universities are cashing in on renting out student accommodation to non-students, amid a funding crisis which could force some to fold.
Almost £100m has been made by universities across the UK in the last three years – with some institutions doubling the income they receive from summer accommodation rentals in that time, Freedom of Information (FOI) request figures show.
Overpaid wages
New figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show the BBC accidentally overpaid workers more than £4m over the last four years.
Staffers paid monthly are having the cash taken from their wages, but the broadcaster has opted not to pursue repayment from others.
Over the past five years, the BBC has reportedly written off 492 cases, costing licence-fee payers £522,000. Some have reportedly walked away with up to £10,000 in extra wage payments.
Separate figures show 86% of overpayments made over the last five years have been reclaimed by the broadcaster.
Overpaid student loans
At least 10 graduates are owed more than £15,000 after overpaying their student loans – with one owed nearly £50,000 by the Student Loans Company. Some former students in England overpaid on their loans more than five years ago and they still have not claimed their refunds, according to Student Loans Company (SLC) data.
The figures, obtained by Research Professional News, show that one individual overpaid their student loan by more than £48,840, and a further three people overpaid by more than £20,000. The data, which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, shows none have received refunds for the five-figure sums.
Potholes…forever!
The roads are rubbish, now might be a good time to check in on council’s pothole-related spending.
Compensation claims for cars damaged by potholes received by the Kent’s largest authority have rocketed by 119% since 2021. It can be revealed Kent County Council (KCC) has spent more than £35million fixing craters in damaged roads.
And a further £583,000 has been forked out by the local authority fighting pothole damage claims in the past three years alone, according to data gleaned from freedom of information requests.
A North London council has paid out nearly £600,000 in compensation for accident and injury claims caused by potholes and pavement defects since 2020, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.
The highest annual pay out came between 2020 and 2021, when Brent Council settled 16 claims totalling more than £200,000.
Rubbish festive lights
The Winter Lights display in the capital was described as an “absolute disgrace” by furious Dubliners.
Dublin City Council were inundated with emails from members of the public complaining about the festival, which promised to transform the city centre “with epic light features on iconic landmarks, buildings, bridges, trees, statues and Merrion Square Park”.
Some of the landmarks and buildings which were illuminated include The General Post Office, The Spire, The Samuel Beckett Bridge and the Millennium Bridge. One of these emails, which were released to the Irish Mirror following a Freedom of Information request, fumed to council chiefs: “I went into Dublin City last night with my family to look at the lights, I have to say this year they are an absolute disgrace.
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