Guessing someone will pop in an FOI for the full report…

Kemi, this is just a population density map

Creative ways to use #FOI: Get really specific - looking at crime on high streets through one chain. Or a jumping off point for an in-depth feature looking at items recovered from shipwrecks.

"if i leave the nazi sexual abuse app - the predators win" win what? a nazi sexual abuse app?

"We can excuse free child pornography, but we draw the line at charging for it" is both the most this government way to handle this, and absolutely barking.

#FOI proving useful in the quiet post-Xmas news week We've got potholes, speeding, danger dogs, & food hygiene reports that'll put you off your 'run out of cheese/can't be bothered to cook' takeaway:

Freedom of Information is a New Year staple. Partly because it’s pretty handy for stories during the quieter period while […] The post Freedom of Information in the news – week ending 2/1/2026 – #FOIFriday first appeare...

Turning the insights you get from datasets into something you can share with other people – and have them understand what you’re on about is a challenge. And a skill that is becoming increasingly vital...

Big local event happening (even bigger than a Christmas lights switch-on)? More Tour de France Grand Depart. Worth using #FOI to ask how much it's going to cost:

Fixing hospital building in Scotland will cost £1.5bn, according to #FOI:

Today is your last chance to send Christmas post.  But it helps if your local postbox hasn't been nicked.  #FOI shows more than 50 stolen in five years in Norfolk:

For everyone’s sake, I won’t be sending a press release every time I send an #FOI request.  Though someone apparently thought theirs warranted one:

Last Sunday, around 1 in 7 hospital beds in England was occupied be someone well enough to leave But how many bed days are lost to delayed discharges (a question it shouldn't take FOI to find out):

How complained about are your councillors and is it on the rise? Leicestershire Council seems to have had a flurry in the first six months under Reform:

the two genders: melee and ranged

The government says it's not planning to extend FOI to cover Electoral Returning Officers. However, the forthcoming elections legislation will be a good opportunity to raise this issue further and for someone to propose an amendment to change this.

Potentially one in nine Band 5 nursing posts are vacant at Belfast Health & Social Care Trust and an average of 233 shifts need covering each day. #FOI reveals how much it's costing to cover them:

There are no aliens on the tube, #FOI has helpfully confirmed. This isn't encouragement to send stupid requests, but an up-to-date disclosure log is a great resource for stories and ideas:

Winter pressures usually put the NHS in the news this time of year.  Combine that with using #FOI to find stories ahead of the holiday period and there's quite a few health stories this week:

Getting an answer – any answer – to your #FOI request isn’t always easy. And it might be getting harder...

Maybe don't annoy your colleagues so much they send an #FOI about you? Constituents of a Reform councillor complained he wasn't responding, turns out he's only sent 2 emails since being elected:

The ICO has issued an enforcement notice against the FCDO because of its persistently "unacceptable" delays in processing FOI requests and its failure to improve properly, despite the ICO's previous more limited interventions. Good - the FCDO's track record on FOI is terrible.

Need a new spin on a parking tickets #FOI? How many drivers have been caught not charging their vehicle in an electric vehicle charging bay?

Another week, another data breach in an #FOI release. Despite the depressing regularity with which this happens, I'm not sure we're going to learn how to avoid it just yet...

so great that Labour's adult care policy amounts to a Louise Casey report and an unspecified pay rise in about 2028 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Retained fire stations rely on on-call staff to attend incidents.  Not enough staff available and they don't go. Something that happened 93% of the time at one station according to #FOI:

As #FOI suggests they make up 4 in 5 offenders, are men more likely to drive without insurance? Or are they just more likely to get caught doing it?

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council don't want you to know this*... https://clairemiller.net/2025/12/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-12-12-2025-foifriday/ *it's email addresses you can send #FOI requests to

Some people will do anything to avoid having to deal with emails.  Including not having an email address. But from those who tracked down the #FOI email, this week's round-up of stories:

How not to handle an #FOI request…

How not to handle an #FOI request…

I wanted dinner recommendations so I scraped 13,000+ London restaurants and accidentally discovered Google Maps is running a shadow economy. Anyway here's a dashboard and a political economy thesis: open.substack.com/pub/laurenle...

So how much does Bridgwater's annual 'snowflakes and shopping' event cost to put on (and festoon in Christmas lights)?

When something changes (like councils reducing or ending free parking provision), it's often worth an #FOI to find out what impact it's had:

Government has now - belatedly -published the impact assessment for the changes to skilled worker and care worker visas announced in May. Impact is estimated between -£2 billion and £-10 billion (central - £10 billion). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6937e6...

Want to reduce your #FOI burden? Have you tried just publishing the information? Moray Council has a new system for councillor expenses they think is a timesaver:

Keeping on top of #FOI requests is hard. A lack of staff and poor systems are common problems, but a lack of enthusiasm may not help either:

The best use of #FOI responses uses them and local knowledge to find stronger story.  Like how high local car insurance costs could mean people skip it, meaning more cars seized with no insurance:

Not to be a Grinch about the Christmas lights Grinch story, but this was not a well-constructed #FOI request. Complaints about lights in festive months isn't the same thing as Xmas light complaints:

An #FOI win can make future requests much easier. The ICO ruled the value of council-bought shopping centres should be revealed. A request for updated figures was answered much quicker:

It's a festive #FOI Friday and it's all about Christmas lights (including some people who aren't very happy about the Christmas lights!) These and other stories:

There will always by #FOI requests about potholes...

One to ask your #FOI writing AI bot. How much are council's spending on AI software and systems (the follow-up to this one is whether that spending is value for money):

A less festive Festive #FOI (though the one about the cost of Christmas lights might be more controversial than I previously thought...). So, how many burglaries happen over the holidays?

Here is a list of reasons why some of my hearings and trials this year have been delayed and kicked off into the long grass, stuck in our record court backlog. Serious allegations which will now be tried *years* after the event. 🧵👇

After last week’s cautionary tale about the perils of parish councils and FOI, another one seems to be kicking off:

It seems a bit of a weird coincidence if records people have been requesting under #FOI were all destroyed after a public body had been ordered to comply with a request.

Dozens of modified e-bikes and non-hire scheme e-scooters have been seized by Norfolk Police (mostly because the riders were uninsured/didn't have a licence):

Problem: you have two left wing parties in British politics. Solution: start a new left wing party to unify the movement Problem: you now have four left wing parties in British politics

As all the roads in Cardiff are shut*, because someone decided to have the rugby and football kick off at the same time, and no one told the bus driver (until he reached the closed road), I’m now on a mystery tour of Cardiff *Not actually all, just feels like it