A police body criticised for how it was applying Freedom of Information law has decided not to clean up its act.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) central referral unit (CRU) first attracted attention for advising police forces not to reveal information on topics including the use of banned surveillance software and the spread of super-strength drugs. This included advice to retract earlier releases and instead neither confirm nor deny the information.
After more similar stories emerged, the unit had said it would stop recording the original requester’s identity when advising forces on how to answer FOIs. It’s now reversed that decision saying those details helped spot forces asking for help with the same issue and repeat requests.
The head of the unit Ashleigh Beney claimed the details helped them consider the purposes for which information could be used if published, and the possible impact on public health and safety, adding the unit’s advice was otherwise provided following the applicant blind principle.
All of which doesn’t sound much like following the applicant blind principle. The review of the practices of the Cabinet Office’s Clearing House found circulating requester’s names wasn’t necessary and there were other ways share information about similar requests.
Elsewhere, sometimes not making an FOI request is the ideal. Full Fact has been tracking progress on the pledges made by Labour in its manifesto, and it would rather not have to use FOI to get information on what’s happening.
Emergency calls
The number of ambulance responses to suicide attempts and self-harm incidents increased by more than a fifth in a year, according to a Freedom of Information request by the Samaritans.
There were 182,659 incidents of self-harm and suicide responded to in 2024 by eight of the 11 ambulance services in England which responded to the FOI request.
This was up from 150,516 in 2023 – a rise of 21%.
Slow ambulances
Information passed to the Telegraph under freedom of information laws shows the Scottish Ambulance Service received more than 400 calls last year which were categorised as ‘purple’, the label assigned to the most serious cases.
The median response time across all purple incidents was seven minutes and two seconds. The longest wait recorded for a critical call was 39 minutes and 20 seconds, while the 90th percentile response time was 17 minutes and 13 seconds.
Overtime in court
Figures released under Freedom of Information show that over a five year period Police Scotland incurred almost £13million in overtime costs for officers cited for court on days off or annual leave.
The total costs for police witnesses between the financial years 2020/2021 and 2024/2025 was £12,856,013. Of that total £9,071,020 was spent paying officers to attend court while on annual leave.
In many instances cops are being called to give evidence several times in the same case, thus creating multiple overtime claims. Often they turn up court to discover the accused has pled guilty or the case adjourned.
Absent pupils
There has been a sharp rise in prosecutions for North Tyneside and Newcastle parents over unauthorised school absences.
North Tyneside Council launched 58 prosecutions last year – a 346% increase on the previous 12 months. Across Newcastle last year, there were 69 prosecutions, but this year that number has risen to 84.
The figures were revealed as part of a Freedom of Information Act request, and come as thousands of youngsters across the area return to school for the new academic year.
Management training
Only one in five NHS leaders received senior management training over the past five years, while at the same time the health service spent large sums on management consultants, according to research.
Data obtained by the UCL Global Business School for Health through freedom of information (FOI) requests, and shared with the Financial Times, found that on average just £106 a year was spent on training for every senior NHS manager over the past five financial years.
FOI data from 74 trusts selected to be representative of England as a whole, both geographically and in size of hospital, also showed the large amount the NHS was spending on management consultants during the same period. It found annual spending of an average of £600,000 per hospital trust, although this figure has been on a declining trend.
Not in use
Police Scotland have named the locations of 120 speed cameras across the Scotland which are no longer in use.
The cameras were used to not only catch speeders but also motorists who jump red lights. The details were revealed under Freedom of Information by the national force.
Each camera however remains in situ with a “Not in Use” cover. The operators Safety Cameras Scotland say that the cameras can remain dormant for a period of three years, after which a decision will be taken on whether they will be abandoned or re-activated.
Bin costs
Getting a spot in FOI Friday for a good headline pun and an evergreen local issue igniting a flurry of FOI requests.
A Freedom of Information request (FOI) to City of York Council by The Press revealed that the project cost £105,567.60 – less than the £122,000 budget that was set by the local authority ahead of the rollout.
The total bill was made up of £79,971.10 for bins, with each bin costing £17 – with the exception of 67 bins handed out in Hull Road ward at a cost of £17.30 each – and £25,596.50 for delivery.
Some residents are not keen on the new scheme. Resident, Jon Calpin, said he thought the council’s reasons for the roll out were disingenuous – having submitted his own freedom of information request to the council to query the number of injuries caused by the previous black bag system.
This followed a line in the roll out letter stating that the new scheme would result in fewer injuries to refuse workers.
Parking limits
More protesting locals using FOI to highlight their cause. Hundreds of protesters are expected in Lymington town centre on Monday demanding an end to 20-minute high street parking restrictions.
After submitting a Freedom of Information request to the county council, protest organiser Gary Saunders was told the parking meters cost £39,880 to install, maintain and run in 2022, and £4,920 to maintain and run each year since then.
The county council said during their first year of installation, from 2022 to 2023, the meters made £60,718. From 2023 to 2024, the meters made £97,244, and during 2024 and 2025 they made a total of £105,127.
Debating space
Squeezing an extra 36 politicians into the Welsh Parliament has got costlier. A newly-expanded Senedd will need a budget increase of almost £19m next year, according to the body responsible for the institution’s day-to-day running.
A Freedom of Information response published in May estimated it would cost £3.25m, but Jones told the Senedd the cost to the taxpayer was now set to be £4.22m.
Rats in a pub
Environmental health officers visited a Wetherspoons pub after a customer reported seeing a rat running “up and down” the venue while food and drinks were being served.
While at the Waggon and Horses in Alfreton, Derbyshire, in August, officials saw CCTV footage showing a rat running around chairs and tables used by customers.
A full inspection of the venue, released in response to a Freedom of Information request, revealed gnawed carpet in the seating and stair area and a hole in the stairway skirting board, large enough for a rodent to pass though.
JD Wetherspoon said the pub had closed on 4 August and reopened two days later after council inspectors “confirmed that the necessary action had been taken to address the problem and that there was no further activity seen”.
Refreshments
You’re pretty unlikely to get a cup of tea and a biscuit at a council meeting these days. This FOI has been a bit of a trend, but mostly it’s just highlighting that spending on refreshments for meetings isn’t very high (most councils have cut down the circumstances where they’ll get the caterers in).
Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request by the News & Star reveal that the council spent £9,679.50 on teas, coffees, and refreshments at meetings during the 29-month period between April 2023 and September 2025.
According to the figures, the council’s highest spending on teas, coffees, and refreshments at meetings came in June 2023, when £1,512.72 was spent. The lowest spending came in August 2024, when nothing was spent on teas, coffees and refreshments at meetings.
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