FOI Friday: Brothel raids, B&B costs, farm thefts and cautions for violent crimes

1.Houses of multiple occupancy Kicking off with a story which may not have been sourced under FOI, but which could be: The Liverpool ECHO reports on the number of properties which have been licensed for use as ‘houses of multiple occupancy’, of which just 25% had planning permission? Why is this an issue? Well, if

FOI Friday: Boozy toddlers, rats on the run, football debt & councillors dodging tax

Britain’s youngest boozer? The Sunday Mercury used FOI to ask local hospitals the ages of those aged 12 or under who were treated for booze addiction, and the total number. One child was aged just three, and a total of 107 under 12s in the region were treated. Parking fines Don’t all shout ‘We’ve done

FOI Friday: Lost warrant cards, council sick days, noisy students and the real cost of council savings

1. Stolen warrant cards The Yorkshire Post used the Freedom of Information Act to find out how many warrant cards had been lost or stolen by officers in Yorkshire in recent years. The answer: 370. Why are warrant cards particularly important? According to the paper: Just over a week ago a gang of distraction burglars

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

Complaints about food We start this week with one of those FOI stories which will have the anti-FOI brigade sucking their teeth as saying ‘What a waste of money.’ The Mail on Sunday reported on complaints made by MPs to the Commons catering department. One went so far as to say the menu depicted a