Tagged: Sunderland Echo
FOI Friday: Dirty hospitals, re-employed redundant council workers, lost dogs and drug warrants
A fortnightly round-up of FOI-based stories which could be followed up anywhere…
The secret past of would-be teachers < < < Sunday Sun
POSSESSING explosives, being drunk while in charge of a child, death by reckless driving and indecent assault on a girl . . these are just some of the serious criminal convictions would-be teachers in the North have under their belt.
Hundreds of potential teachers have been applying for classroom positions across the region despite holding a range of serious criminal convictions, the Sunday Sun can reveal.
Information released by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), after the Sunday Sun made a Freedom of Information Act request, revealed the scale of convictions clocked up by teachers applying for positions in the North.
Childhood drugs overdoses < < < Sunderland Echo
A SIX-YEAR-OLD was rushed to Sunderland Royal Hospital after overdosing on antidepressants.
The shocking revelation comes as new figures show three people a day are admitted to the city’s hospital after taking a drug overdose.
A total of 2,999 people were taken to A&E after overdosing on prescribed or non-prescribed medicine and drugs from December 2008 to December 2011.
The youngest was a six-year-old. A further five 12-year-olds were admitted after overdosing on painkillers, penicillin and anti-inflammatory drugs.
More council compensation claims < < < Sunday Mercury
A COUNCIL grave digger has been awarded £65,000 compensation – after he fell into a burial plot he was preparing.
The cemetery worker received the payout from Birmingham City Council (BCC) after he hurt his right knee in the incident.
He is one of several local authority employees who have claimed compensation after being injured at work.
In another case a school worker was handed £100,000 after slipping on food in a dinner hall.
FOI Friday: Hospital parking, strange police phone calls, cheating students and criminals applying to work in schools
Toilet seats and compensation < < < Birmingham Mail
A WORKER sued Birmingham City Council and won £1,750 after a toilet seat collapsed causing him injuries, it has emerged.
The man was one of 274 successful claims in the last five years leaving taxpayers with a bill of almost £5 million.
Trips, exposure to deadly asbestos and problems with training were behind some of the most costly compensation payouts by the city council last year, the Birmingham Mail can reveal.
The cost of defending claims by a police force < Carlisle Times and Star
Cumbria Constabulary has paid out almost £50,000 in five years defending itself against employees who made claims of racism, sexism and unlawful deduction of wages.
The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show 12 employees made claims against the force between 2008 and 2011.
Of these cases, Cumbria Constabulary lost three following an employment tribunal, won three and settled five without the need for an employment tribunal.
Bomb alerts in a city < < < Bradford Telegraph and Argus
Bomb experts carried out a controlled explosion after a smoke grenade was found in a Bradford alleyway in the 15th Army call-out to the city in three years.
Statistics from the Ministry of Defence released to the Telegraph & Argus under the Freedom of Information Act show the Catterick-based Army bomb disposal unit had been deployed to 14 other reports of suspicious packages, bomb hoaxes and improvised explosive devices in the district before the latest incident on Monday night.
Violent criminals apply to work in schools < < < Sunderland Echo
VIOLENT thugs, benefit fraudsters, drink drivers, drug users and a witness who lied under oath.
These are just some of the people who have applied to teach your children.
Today the Echo reveals the long list of convictions held by people applying to work with children in Sunderland’s schools.
The criminal offences were discovered when the past of applicants was scrutinised by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).
A Freedom of Information Act request found that 72 applications made in the city in the last two years were flagged up by the checking process, which unearthed 180 previous convictions.
A parking ticket issued every five minutes < < < Western Morning News
Motorists in Cornwall are being punished with parking tickets once every five minutes, the Western Morning News has discovered.
Parking officers handed out more than 36,000 tickets across the county in the past year, with drivers paying out more than £1.5 million in fi1nes.
Student plagerism on the rise < < < Nottingham Post
THE number of university students in Nottingham getting caught for cheating in coursework is on the rise.
In the past year 340 students in the city have been caught for plagiarism – almost 100 more than last year.
According to figures obtained by the Post, through a Freedom of Information request, the number of students found guilty of plagiarism at Nottingham Trent University has more than doubled, shooting up from 94 students in 2009/10 to 211 students 2010/11.
Crazy calls made to police < < < Sunday Sun
FROM vampire chases and alien attacks, to UFO and zombie sightings… these are just some of the spooky calls taken by North police forces.
Dozens of members of the public believe they have had a brush with the supernatural over the last five years.
The Sunday Sun can reveal the wacky calls received by forces in the region after a Freedom of Information Act request unearthed some ghostly goings-on.
Since 2007 more than 80 calls in relation to UFOs, aliens, zombies, vampires, ghosts and witches have been made to police by concerned members of the public.
Police officers who quit while conduct probed < < < Manchester Evening News
CAMPAIGNERS have demanded an end to hospital parking charges for seriously ill patients after a Sunday Sun investigation revealed £8m was raked in by health trusts last year.
A probe has revealed nine NHS trusts in the region raised a whopping £8,287,429 in parking fees – that’s up £106,000 on the previous year.
But many scrap all charges in some special cases, making parking free or discounted for cancer and renal patients and long-stay relatives.
Parking fines rebooted < < < The Birmingham Post
The ‘please name your top 20 streets for parking fines’ story is almost as old as the Freedom of Information Act itself but put in the context of tough economic times for businesses, it is perhaps more relevant than ever. To that end, the Birmingham Post got hold of Birmingham’s top 20 list – with one small street raking in almost £100,000.
FOI Friday
1. Cheating Students – Northampton Chronicle
INCIDENTS of plagiarism by students at the University of Northampton in exam coursework have increased by 65 per cent in the past four years.
Latest figures show that 391 students were found guilty of ‘academic misconduct’ which primarily relates to deliberate or unintentional cases of copying other people’s work.
The statistics, available from a Freedom of Information request, show there were 237 incidents of academic misconduct in 2006/7, 245 in 2007/8, 284 in 2008/9 and 391 in 2009/10.
2. Council bosses take redundancy – and return as consultants – Merton Guardian
Town hall bosses have “serious questions to answer” after Merton’s cash-strapped council spent thousands of pounds on redundancy payouts to senior employees, only to rehire them as highly-paid consultants.
Since May 2010, five so-called ‘boomerang bosses’ have found jobs back at Merton Council after £178,000 was spent laying them off.
A series of emails, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that a week before chief executive Ged Curran authorised her job offer, the council’s head of human resources, Dean Shoesmith, gave Ms Williams instructions on how to become a consultant.
3. 72 benefit cheats in Lincolnshire caught claiming more than £320k – Louth Target
MORE than £320,000 in benefits has been fraudulently claimed in East Lindsey in the last nine months.
In total, 72 benefit cheats were caught by the district council during that period with the biggest fraudster, from Alford, being successfully prosecuted for claiming £58,325 too much for failing to declare a partner living in the household.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that 15 people were brought before the courts for the offences in 2009/10 compared to 30 in 2010/11.
However East Lindsey District Council, who brought the prosecutions, says the figures don’t necessarily mean fraud is on the increase.
FOI Friday: Prisoner complaints, pensions invested in cluster bombs and crime on rich streets
1. The complaints made by prisoners < < < Manchester Evening News
Inmates at Strangeways have bombarded jail bosses with thousands of often trivial official complaints in the last 12 months – including grumbles about heating, outstanding DVD orders and the quality of the food.
Records of formal inmate grievances at HMP Manchester have shown how officers are being tied up dealing with petty inconveniences. A total of almost 3,500 formal complaints were processed by Strangeways in 12 months – an average of almost 10 every day.
Details, obtained by the M.E.N. under Freedom of Information laws, show how staff had to chase up a newsagent after an inmate complained he had not received a TV listing magazine.
2. Crimes on rich streets < < < Surrey Comet
Criminals have been targeting millionaires on the exclusive St George’s Hill Estate.
In the past six months there have been eight crimes, according to a Freedom of Information request made to Surrey Police, including a suspected shotgun robbery.
The crimes include one incident of criminal damage, one non-domestic burglary, two robberies, two thefts or handling of stolen goods, one vehicle crime and one crime of violence without injury.
3. The council pension fund investing in cluster bomb firm < < < Sunderland Echo
FOI Friday: Dirty schools, lying parents, superbug deaths and attacks on postment
Children lose school places after parents lie < < < Birmingham Mail
RECORD numbers of Birmingham children are being left devastated by the city council withdrawing their prized place at school because the youngsters’ parents lied on their application form.
The local authority has taken places off eight pupils who were due to start their new schools this month after being tipped off by the mums and dads’ neighbours.
The number has shot up from five youngsters having their place withdrawn in 2010 and three in 2009.
Dirty School kitchens < < < Liverpool Echo
A FILTHY school canteen plagued by rodents posed an “imminent risk” to Merseyside pupils’ health, a report has revealed.
Mounds of mouse droppings were discovered in the kitchens of Bedford primary in Bootle in a surprise hygiene spot-check.
Pellets were even found in a bain-marie, a hot cupboard used to keep food warm for the 220 children who are served school meals, and near to where sandwiches were prepared.
40 deaths related to superbugs < < < Teesside Gazette
MORE than 40 people have died at two Teesside hospitals over the last three years after contracting a killer superbug.
A Freedom of Information request has shown the number of patients who died at the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton, and the University Hospital of Hartlepool after contracting Clostridium Difficile (C.diff).
FOI FRIDAY: Drowned dogs, toxic waste, taser guns and cheer-me-up consultants
FOI stories this week have covered everything from the buildings council own to the hospital which admitted paying consultants to advise on how to cheer up patients. Here are 10 FOI stories which could work for you…
1. What buildings do councils own?
Here’s a clever FOI to kick things off this week. The communities secretary, Eric Pickles is keen for councils to reveal what properties they own. In Birmingham. the information is already available, thanks to an FOI. Asking the council how much it has spent on business rates in empty properties adds another dimension to the story.
2. Drowned puppies and toxic waste
Perhaps the most unusual story I’ve ever seen on a story based on an FOI request. The Hinckley Times used FOI to find out the items the borough council had been called out to clear up. Among things collected on 800 call outs to clean up dumped stuff was a bag of drowned puppies, toxic waste, dead horses and the complete contents of woman’s wardrobe, including her underwear.
3. Why councils are spying on you
FOI requests about use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 use by councils – the ability for them to spy on you if they think you’re doing something wrong – was all the rage last year. But this FOI request by the Sheffield Star proves it is worth doing again, because councils continue to use the powers. In Sheffield’s case, 30 times in the last year.
FOI Friday: Dog poop, online browsing, police response times and racism in schools
1. What public sector workers look at online
I think it’s safe to say this one could run, and run, and run. A freedom of information request to the Department for Transport revealed the top 1,000 most visited websites from Department for Transport computers. Some amusing surprises in there.
2. Alternative therapies in schools
According to a freedom of information request reported in the Birmingham Mail, schools in the city have spent £1.5million on alternative therapies for staff and pupils, including massages. The firms paid the cash was called Herriots and Millward.
3. Data Protection Act breaches in police forces
The Manchester Evening News this week revealed that a memory stick containing details of drugs informants had been stolen in a burglarly from a police officer’s house. Greater Manchester Police was so keen for the public’s help in cracking this case that it didn’t even mention it for over a week. Coincidentally, an FOI request from the Cambridge News demonstrates the value of using FOI to ask police forces for the number of Data Protection Act breaches. 12 staff were caught breaking DPA rules, including one person putting information on Facebook. If ever you’ve done the ‘lost and stolen data’ FOI, it might be worth broadening it out in future to include any DPA breaches.
FOI Friday: Dodging magistrates, the race for Oxbridge, big cats and clearing up after gypsies
Oxford University - unfamiliar territory for Welsh students?
Some interesting data from the Western Mail, which used FOI to ask how many students from each of the towns in Wales had been enrolled at Oxford and Cambridge in recent years. In some parts of Wales, not a single student has attended Oxbridge for seven years.
No shows at magistrates courts
One of the more controversial cuts decisions made by the government has been the planned closure of courts. The Southport Visiter used FOI to ask how many no shows there had been at its courts, which are due to close. The answer was that 1,778 warrants had been issued for no shows since 2008. The next question is whether that figure will rise when Sefton Magistrates closes and cases are transferred further away
Covering stories about gypsies can be difficult for regional journalists because it often leads to accusations of promoting Nimbyism. However, the Sunderland Echo added an extra dimension to its coverage of a temporary gypsy camp by asking the council how much it cost to clean up the camp. The answer was £1,700.
FOI FRIDAY: Wrongly-released prisoners, compo for teachers, police bill for mobile phone records and dodgy measures in the pub
Looking for an FOI idea? Here are 10 which made headlines recently….
The Liverpool ECHO used FOI to find out how many prisoners had been released from the city’s two prisons by mistake over the last few years. In total, nine were – including several who had been convicted of violent offences.
Teachers in the North East have received compensation payouts totalling £400,000 in the last few years as a result of accidents in the classroom. The Sunday Sun got the information using FOI, and also asked for a breakdown of payouts. As a result it was able to report where the largest payout was made, and for what:
One teacher in South Shields, South Tyneside, was given the highest individual payout of £50,000 after they tripped over a play bed and were left with a permanent wrist injury.
Another teacher in North Yorkshire – which paid out a total of £31,775 for eight claims – was compensated after getting an electric shock from the main supply. Payouts for the 2009/10 financial year totalled £230,620 – a rise of £52,000, or 29%, on the 2007/2008 financial year.
How reliable are the measures you receive in pubs and shops? The Coventry Telegraph set out to find that out using FOI – discovering the Trading Standards officers had uncovered dodgy scales and measuring equipment – eg petrol pumps, beer pumps – 128 times in the last few years.
FOI Friday: 10 things we’ve learnt this week thanks to the Freedom of Information Act
1. How safe are you from crime in hospital?
You’d like to think you were safe from crime in hospital, but the Liverpool Echo reports this week that that isn’t always the case.
The Echo asked hospital trusts for details of thefts reported in hospitals in the region:
SEVENTEEN sets of dentures, a nativity scene and surgical cameras worth more than £30,000 were among items lost or stolen in Merseyside’s hospitals last year.
Freedom of Information requests made by the ECHO revealed approximately £5,000 in cash belonging to patients was stolen, six wheelchairs were swiped and several laptops and TVs went walkabout.
The items were owned by patients, staff or the health trusts themselves and vanished during 2009.
The two surgical cameras – worth £32,500 – disappeared from Fazakerley hospital in June soon after they were delivered.
