The video no-one predicted when filming of council meetings was allowed…

When Eric Pickles, the local government and communities secretary, forced through new rules allowing the press and public to film council meetings, many people perhaps hoped (at best) that heated verbal jousts would be caught on camera. I suspect very few people expected a fight to be caught on camera. And to be fair to

FOI Friday: Council workers earning less than a living wage, mental health wards and publicly-funded competitions

From revealing the impact of hospital ward closures to the number of people working for councils below a living wage – here are 10 FOI ideas from around the country

How many celebrities does it take to open a sandwich shop in Burnley?

It’s always a good way of getting into the newspaper – getting a local celebrity to pop along and open your shop. But here’s perhaps an example of overkill – getting not one, not two but THREE local Burnley celebrities to open a sandwich shop. I guess life for Burnley’s football fraternity is a little

FOI Friday: Cops under probe, postie problems and restaurant reports

1. Cops under probe The Lancashire Telegraph lifted the lid on 50 cases of serious misconduct brought again Lancashire Police officers which were, in the main, kept under wraps. Cases include allegations of assault, theft, drink driving, possession of child porn, fraud, making threats to kill and rape. Of course, 50 cases among such a

FOI Friday: 10 things we’ve learnt this week thanks to the Freedom of Information Act

1. Council trips abroad At a time when budgets are being slashed, spending at local authorities will come under greater scrutiny than ever. FOI is a powerful tool in this respect, as the Press and Journal in Aberdeen showed this week when it revealed how one council had spent £400,000 on more than 100 trips