Freedom of Information Reports

Nations and Regions

• Hospital 'serious incidents' revealed

  Nearly 400 "serious untoward incidents" were reported in Kent's hospitals in the last financial year, a BBC investigation discovers.

• U-turn M1 drivers avoid prosecution

  A road safety group says drivers "seemed to have got away" with illegal U-turns on the M1 motorway despite being filmed.

• One courthouse sold since closures

  Scotland's court service has sold just one of its former courthouses since a series of closures began more than two years ago, BBC Scotland has learned.

• Blue lights stolen from police car

  A money jar, blue lights from a police car and a cement mixer are among items stolen by thieves from Wales' four police forces.

• Private child fostering bill nears £7m

  Almost £7m has been spent on private foster agencies in Somerset due to a shortage of council foster families.

• Some term-time holiday fines 'unfair'

  Some parents fined for taking holidays in term-time may have been dealt with unfairly and unlawfully, an assembly member claims.

• Oxford Circus 'closes every three days'

  Oxford Circus Tube station had to be closed 113 times in a year because of overcrowding, new figures reveal.

• No action over 60,000 speeding cases

  A council vehicle tracking system records nearly 60,000 cases of speeding over four years but no staff are disciplined or face prosecution.

• Council leader should quit, says mayor

  A local authority leader who "misled" councillors over contracts awarded to his personal physiotherapist's firm should resign, the area's mayor tells the BBC.

• More than 1.8 million fines at crossing

  More than 1.8 million penalty charge notices are issued to drivers failing to pay the new cashless Dartford crossing charge, figures show.

• Library book expenditure in decline

  The purchase of library books has decreased by up to a third in parts of Scotland, according to data obtained by the BBC.

• Agency social workers cost soars to £16m

  South West councils spent £16.5m on agency social workers last year, up from £6.8m in 2012, it has emerged.

• Council waived rules over physio deal

  A council waived its own financial rules three times when awarding contracts to a firm run by the local authority leader's personal physiotherapist, the BBC learns.

• Ambulances 'dropped' over staffing

  Ambulances are not being deployed due to a lack of staff, a paramedic tells BBC News.

• Race case force promotes one officer

  A constable who took Wiltshire Police to a racism tribunal is the only black officer to be promoted within the force in five years, the BBC learns.

• NI school crime topped 1,200 in 2014

  More than 1,200 alleged crimes linked to schools in Northern Ireland were reported to police last year.

• 'We couldn't have been the only ones'

  As bereaved families gather to remember children whose ashes were never returned to them, the reporter whose work led to an inquiry into the scandal reveals his personal connection to the story.

• Third of homeless moved from boroughs

  A third of homeless families in temporary accommodation in London are being moved outside of their boroughs, according to new figures.