FOI Friday: The stories made possible thanks to FOI in September 2016

A look at some of the stories made possible thanks to FOI laws in the UK – most of which can easily be replicated elsewhere… Ambulances called to one house 500 times < Kent Online Ambulance crews were called to 595 emergency calls from one private address in one year. The astonishing figure came to

FOI FRIDAY: 10 FOI ideas for journalists is back!

Welcome to the return of FOI – a weekly look at FOI stories which are worth sharing (and in many cases, copying). As an added incentive to read on, this blog will also celebrate/shame those councils who prove that actions speak louder than words when it comes to delivering on the principles of FOI and

FOI Friday: Air bag thefts, obese toddlers, asbestos in schools and the £26,000 chairs

How much is a broken arm worth? < Eastern Daily Press Victims of crime in Norfolk have been awarded compensation payments of up to £370,000 for injuries including a broken arm, collapsed lung, and even serious brain damage, new figures have revealed. Data from the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA) show that in the past

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

FOI FRIDAY: Secret dossiers, missing prisoners, hate crimes and council redundancies

  1. Secret dossiers There’s a lot of focus on FOI as a tool to get data out of authorities at the moment, so I thought it was worth kicking off this week with a great example of what you get when you ask councils for full documents on things. Using FOI, the Leicester Mercury