This is probably the next Freedom of Information scandal.
After the Cabinet Office Clearing House caused concerns about requests from journalists being flagged and sensitive releases blocked. And after it was then criticised by a Government review for being less than transparent and applicant blind. It still seems lessons haven’t been learned.
The BBC reported back in March that the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) central referral unit (CRU) had advised police forces not to reveal information on topics including the use of banned surveillance software and the spread of super-strength drugs.
It’s now back, advising police forces to say nothing about their software contracts with Palantir. Big Brother Watch has lodged a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office calling for an investigation, and saying the CRU is breaching the spirit and potentially the letter of the FOI Act.
In other FOI news, the former chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Anne Donaghy, being prosecuted on three counts under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act and other legislation.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said two people faced charges over the alleged deletion of e-mails related to a Freedom of Information request.
And the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is so bad at answering FOI requests, The Stage has noticed.
Police misconduct
Perverts and violent abusers are among the latest Welsh police officers kicked off the force. Through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all of the four police forces in Wales, we have obtained details of most police misconduct cases from the last two years.
The list includes a PC caught working other jobs while signed off sick, a sergeant who remained in post despite a criminal conviction for smashing a child’s phone in rage, and a paedophile jailed for a decade.
Bin rage
A driver punched a bin collection worker in the face several times and threatened to stab him during an incident in Derby. The city council says the violent incident happened after a bin lorry tried to reverse down a city street but was blocked by a car.
Initial details of the incident were released in a Freedom of Information request submitted to the city council regarding the safety of refuse workers in Derby during the last financial year. The city council said it was “appalled” by the incident and it was reported to police. No details of the exact location or any outcomes from the report to police have been disclosed.
Breached orders
Figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives via a freedom of information request show that between 2012-13 and 2023-24, 29,544 community payback orders were terminated because of violations by the offender.
Of those breaches, 8,078 resulted in the offender being handed another community sentence as punishment, while just 7,956 led to a custodial sentence being imposed.
Long waits
New figures, obtained by BBC News NI, show that in a seven-month period to January this year, one patient waited two weeks at the Ulster Hospital, while another waited 11 days at the Mater in Belfast.
A Freedom of Information request from BBC News NI revealed that every health trust in Northern Ireland experienced patient waits of about week or more.
The Northern Health Trust said a wait of more than 10 days for a patient in Antrim Area Hospital was because they needed to be isolated in a side room for other people’s safety.
Poor homes
Hundreds of “slum-like” homes across a London borough are still infested with damp and mould — despite the local authority being taken out of special measures by the housing watchdog, The Standard can reveal.
At least 824 properties in Croydon, south London with excess moisture or fungi issues have not been fixed by the council, data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show.
Yellow boxes
Motorists across England were hit with nearly £1 million in fines from just 36 yellow box junctions last year, following the introduction of new enforcement powers for councils.
The staggering sum, revealed by the RAC through Freedom of Information requests, has prompted the motoring organisation to warn that the “enormously high number” of penalty charge notices (PCNs) should “send alarm bells ringing in council offices”.
Lost laptops
Freedom of information disclosures have revealed that thousands of UK government devices worth more than £1m were lost or stolen in the past year.
The Department for Work and Pensions recorded 240 missing laptops and 125 phones in 2024, while the Ministry of Defence lost 103 laptops and 387 phones in just five months this year, the Guardian reported on Sunday (22 June).
Long transfers
Can confirm, both Paddington and Bank stations usually involve a load of walking.
If you’re contemplating switching from the Bakerloo line to the Hammersmith and City at Paddington, think twice. It’s simply not worth the hassle. Paddington, one of London’s busiest stations, boasts the longest walk from line to line in the entire city.
It’s hard to fathom why you’d need to make this change, as the District and Circle lines serve the same stations heading west. But if you’ve travelled from the Elephant and Castle end of the Bakerloo line and then realised you need to get back to the Barbican on the eastbound Circle or Hammersmith and City line train, you might find yourself in this predicament.
Paddington station leads the pack with an epic 15-minute walk between platforms. For those who commute regularly, this could mean up to two-and-a-half hours of walking every week. Bank station comes in close behind, where a significant 10-minute walk separates the Circle and District lines from the Waterloo and City line.
A Freedom of Information request to TfL has revealed the longest platform interchanges across the Tube network, as reported by CityAM.
Image by Jakub Zerdzicki on Pexels
