Freedom of Information requests have a habit of leading to personal data breaches.
Usually the problem in the process is someone not realising or not checking exactly what information is in the spreadsheet they’re sending out.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued new guidance on how to avoid a breach of data protection laws by sending out personal information hidden in documents.
The advice isn’t to avoid sending out information in spreadsheets. Instead the guidance includes:
- Checking for information in hidden rows, columns and worksheets
- Looking for information that’s been moved to a remote part of the spreadsheet
- Not using protect sheet type passwords (these can be broken in about five minutes)
- Looking out for embedded information and links to external workbooks (like pivot tables that keep their links to the original data)
- Checking the file isn’t surprisingly massive when it’s only supposed to have one small table in it
- Considering converting to a format like CSV (cuts the link with pivot tables and shows data in hidden columns and rows)
Illegal goods
Along a one-mile stretch of road near the centre of Newport, 19 shops have been shut down in the past nine months for selling illegal tobacco and vapes.
Illegal cigarettes, tobacco and vape products were seized from 3,624 shops across England, Scotland and Wales in 2024-25, according to BBC Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
Responses were gathered from 169 local Trading Standards teams, out of an estimated total of 187. Many of the seizures came from convenience stores and vape shops, but illegal goods were also found in several other high street shops, including takeaways, beauty salons and even a carpet repair shop.
Hazardous materials
A dozen cases concerning potentially dangerous substances took place in or near the London Underground between last July and May.
In one of the cases, acid was released in an incident logged as ‘assault – physical’ in the Transport for London (TfL) document.
The list was revealed after the Metro asked for the information in light of a reported release of the ‘devil’s breath’ drug on the Tube. There is no record of any such substance having been released in the spreadsheet provided by TfL under the Freedom of Information Act.
Pay-outs
Cash strapped Police Scotland has paid out almost £3million in compensation payments in secret deals to disgruntled staff after being taken to employment tribunals, the Daily Record can reveal.
In each of the 49 cases employees, including police officers and civilian workers, signed gagging orders or non disclosure agreements (NDA’s) to settle the cases and receive the compensation.
The shock figures released by Police Scotland under Freedom of Information show an average of £57,200 was paid out per claim between 2020 and 2024.
Driving tests
It seems that many of today’s youngsters will be lucky to even get a date for their driving test before they turn 18.
New figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that 81 per cent of test centres had a waiting time for a test of five months or more.
Smoking in taxis
North Tyneside is one of the highest council areas for fines issued to taxi drivers found smoking in their cabs. According to data from tobacco alternative firm Alternix, North Tyneside ranks seventh highest in the number of penalties handed to taxi drivers caught smoking in their cars.
The figures, obtained via a freedom of information request, covered fixed penalty notices from across the UK between April 6, 2024 to April 5, 2025.
Pesticides
More than half of all UK councils are using ‘harmful’ pesticides in public places, including parks and playing fields, a new survey has found.
The survey came from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK, which analysed data from 368 UK councils regarding their use of pesticides through 2024.
Dogs in hot cars
Police in County Durham have received 25 reports of owners leaving their dogs in hot cars over the last two years, data has revealed.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made to Durham Constabulary showed that there were 14 reports of dogs being left in hot cars in 2022, with a further three in 2023 and eight in 2024.
The FOI, which was submitted earlier this month, also reveals that 15 of the 25 reports to police involve mention of high temperatures, while 22 of the reports saw police attend the scene of the incidents.
Tooth decay
Shocking new figures show the number of children in Inverclyde needing emergency treatment for tooth decay has soared.
The statistics, released through freedom of information legislation, show the number of patients under 18 attending both Inverclyde Royal and the Royal Hospital for Children has doubled in the last five years.
Starting school
Parents who ask for a delayed start in Reception for a child born between April and August have varying success depending on where they live, an analysis has found.
Figures – obtained by the PA news agency using freedom of information (FoI) requests – show some councils have turned down the majority of parents’ requests to defer their children starting school.
Meanwhile, many councils approved 100% of requests for delayed entry over a three-year period.
Air fryers for pensioners
A council is to hand out more air fryers to pensioners to help them reduce their household bills.
Last winter North Lincolnshire Council distributed 8,000 appliances, including 6,000 energy-saving cooking devices.
A Freedom of Information request by a member of the public revealed the council spent more than £650,000 on the scheme.
It was paid for from a £2.3m grant from the government’s Household Support Fund.
Unhygienic play
A bit of a variation on the regular FOI requests for poor food hygiene reports. Equipment at an indoor play area in Derby was “only sanitised on a monthly basis”, a council report has shown.
Fun Valley, in Shaftesbury Street South, was inspected in November and received a rating of one out of five, meaning major improvement is necessary.
Derby City Council, which released the full inspection report on Wednesday in response to a Freedom of Information request, said the rating will remain until a reinspection. The report said an employee told the inspector that play equipment was cleaned on a “daily basis” but only with a “damp cloth” and would only “sanitise equipment on a monthly basis”.
A spokesperson at Fun Valley said they recognised the report and have since made significant improvements.
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