@clairemiller@mstdn.social
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clairemiller

@clairemiller@mstdn.social

I’m an award winning investigative #datajournalist with more than a decade's experience of using #data skills to dig out data, find stories, and create #visualisations.

I've grappled with thousands of #spreadsheets and #datasets in search of stories. Then found lots of quicker techniques and formulas to speed that up.

I am also an enthusiastic sender of #FreedomOfInformation requests. I've doggedly pursued access to #FOI information I need, up to winning against the ICO in court.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

clairemiller, to random
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There seems to be somewhat of a theme to this week's .

It might not be surprising, a lot of these are classic requests...

https://clairemiller.net/2024/03/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-1-3-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller,
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Half of referrals to a trust's children's mental health services resulted in no treatment last year, according .

Children were discharged after no more than one appointment in over 7,000 cases at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czq45w43006o

clairemiller,
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

The number of children wearing ankle tags in Essex more than doubled in a year, shows.

Between March 31 2022 and the same date in 2023, the number of tagged young offenders aged 17 and under increased from 15 to 33.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-68416439

clairemiller,
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In the majority of speeding cases for 20mph, 30mph and 40mph zones, the drivers were roughly 57 years old, according to the data captured between 2018 and 2023 from an to Avon and Somerset Police.

One of those slapped with a fine was 101-years-old.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/drivers-fined-over-driving-26mph-28714254

clairemiller, to random
@clairemiller@mstdn.social avatar

Got married today? February 29 is a surprisingly popular choice for a wedding day - its second only to Valentine’s Day for February nuptials.

ONS data on marriages in England and Wales shows there’s an average of 659 weddings on the Leap Day, compared to 339 on any other day.

clairemiller, to random
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The power of requests is you can ask for whatever information you want (you might not always get it).

The first two stories this week feature FOI used for follow-ups - to official data or to another FOI...

https://clairemiller.net/2024/02/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-23-2-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller,
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According to NHS data, maintenance issues disrupted care of more than 2,600 hospital patients last year.

shows incidents included green algae growth in a hydrotherapy pool, sewage leaks, power failures and ceiling collapses.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-68214879

clairemiller,
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An about an FOI.

First PA got data on complaints about Ofsted inspectors: https://careappointments.com/care-news/england/205046/more-than-500-complaints-about-ofsted-inspectors-last-year-foi-request-reveals/

Then the Lancashire Telegraph submitted a request to find out more about complaints relating to schools in their area: https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/24127288.complaints-made-ofsted-inspections-blackburn/

clairemiller,
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suggests around 140,000 pupils nationally were home educated at some point in 2022-23, a rise of 12% on the 125,000 the year before. The pupil population grew by just 0.8% over the same period.

The 12% increase is double the 6% rise the year before.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/rate-of-pupils-leaving-for-home-education-doubles/

clairemiller,
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It can be worth revisiting stories to see what's happening with them

Of the 1,500 Ukrainian refugees who came to Wiltshire under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, 82 have at some point registered as homeless or threatened with homelessness, according to

https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/24124591.ukrainian-refugees-threatened-homelessness-wiltshire/

clairemiller,
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At the start of the 2022 autumn term there were 9,080 pupils being home-educated, but the number had jumped to 11,130 by last summer, shows.

Sandwell has seen an 81% rise in recent years, from 402 in 2019-20 to 730.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-68318287

clairemiller,
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At Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, 67.2% of cancer patients start treatment within 62 days of referral.

shows some cancer patients have waited up to 188 days for treatment – over twice the national target.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/24106420.great-western-hospital-cancer-patients-wait-months-treatment/

clairemiller,
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An shows last year, there were a total of 11 dogs seized by Dorset Police, with four impounded in June.

The same number of dogs were also seized in 2022. In total, 41 dogs were seized throughout 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/24132589.foi-41-dogs-seized-dorset-police-attacks/

clairemiller,
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Nearly a third of roads in Suffolk were closed for longer than estimated to enable works to take place according to .

Out of 7,847 road closures since 2018/19, 2,152 went beyond the estimated completion date.

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/24126372.suffolk-road-closures-lasted-6-710-days-2022-23/

clairemiller,
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shows the cost of running a dozen car parks in Newport totalled £1.17 million in 2023.

The council collected slightly more than £1m from pay machines at the same car parks in the 2022/23 financial year.

https://nation.cymru/news/figures-suggest-council-spends-more-than-it-makes-on-car-parks/

clairemiller,
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How much is your local council spending on pothole repair? How does that compare to previous years and how do people feel about that?

shows 4 out of 9 Greater Manchester boroughs had a drop in the number of potholes repaired in the 2022/23 year.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/anger-potholes-trafford-greater-manchester-28617694

clairemiller,
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Dover has the highest number of animals privately owned under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, according to , with two tigers, an amur leopard and more than 25 different breeds of venomous snakes kept in the harbour town.

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/tigers-and-a-leopard-among-wild-animals-privately-owned-in-k-302214/

clairemiller,
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Stay informed about news and tips by following the blog: https://clairemiller.net/blog/

Or by signing up for my newsletter: https://clairemiller.net/blog/#newsletter

clairemiller, to random
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Getting an answer - any answer - to your isn't always easy. And it might be getting harder.

Figures for both Scotland and the rest of the UK suggest few get everything they ask for.

So which stories saw success with their FOI request this week...

https://clairemiller.net/2024/02/freedom-of-information-in-the-news-week-ending-16-2-2024-foifriday/

clairemiller,
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This one also potentially works anywhere and for different types of public bodies that run their own vehicles.

shows PSNI spent £3.7m fixing banged up vehicles since 2019.

Damage was caused by 'ramming incidents', vandalism and road crashes.

https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/more-3million-spent-repairing-damaged-28617627

clairemiller,
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One that could be explored for different councils across the country.

shows 39,875 people with disabilities are currently waiting to be housed across Scotland.

Of those, 1,569 are disabled children under the age of 18.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24121928.abandoned-40000-disabled-scots-stuck-housing-waiting-list/

clairemiller,
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shows, in 2023, 706 registered sex offenders notified West Midlands Police they were changing address. This could have included some who moved more than once

Meanwhile, offenders notified officers they were intending to travel abroad on 462 occasions
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/truth-movements-sex-predators-streets-28632567

clairemiller,
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We've covered an increased NHS staff absence due to stress, depression & anxiety, but this seems to be a widespread issue.

shows between 2018-19 and 2022-23, working days lost to mental health absences soared by 67% among police officers.

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/mental-health-absences-among-police-officers-up-67-in-four-years-figures-show

clairemiller,
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shows 28,379 cases of rickets and 269 cases of scurvy since 2019.

Scurvy is caused by not enough vitamin C in your diet over a long period, while rickets affects bone development in children, most commonly due to a lack of vitamin D or calcium.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/victorian-disease-warning-symptoms-rare-32109825

clairemiller,
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Cops found traces of cocaine in Wrexham FC’s toilets on three occasions during their record-breaking 2022-23 season, shows.

It comes after the 2022 Boxing Day match when a fan was caught snorting powder in the toilets.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/25945891/shock-ryan-reynolds-cops-find-cocaine-wrexham-toilets/

clairemiller,
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Stay informed about news and tips by following the blog: https://clairemiller.net/blog/

Or by signing up for my newsletter: https://clairemiller.net/blog/#newsletter

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