FOI Friday: Babies missing from care homes, absent pupil fines, stalking laws and sexting complaints

Schools starting to make use of fines for absent pupils < Harrogate Advertiser An investigation by the Advertiser series has found that nearly eight times more fines were issued in North Yorkshire, year on year, in the first quarter of the new rules. Countywide, there were 95 fines issued from September to December, compared to

FOI Friday: Lasering planes, worst days to die in hospital and reasons for refusing council houses

The day of the week you’re most likely to die in hospital < Surrey Mirror PATIENTS are far more likely to die at East Surrey Hospital on a Monday than any other day of the week, according to figures obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request. The figures highlight an apparent sizeable disparity between

FOI Friday: Private detectives, bus lanes, stray dogs and mental health abscondees

Spending on private detectives A different take on how councils snoop on people – how much one council spent on hiring private detectives. Answer: £100,000 at Carmarthenshire Council, reports the Swansea Evening Post. Bus lane fines Fed up of FOI requests about speeding tickets or parking fines? How about asking how many bus lane infringements

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

FOI Friday: Swine flu deaths, speeding points, paper cuts in hospital and fuel prices

So, how many people did die of swine flu? For reasons known only to itself – although the fact it keeps being named and shamed by the Information Commissioner for its poor record on FOI might be a clue – the North West Strategic Health Authority banned hospital trusts from giving out figures on swine