Two decades ago, a ground-breaking law came into force that allowed us to expose scandals in a way we’d never been able to before.
On January 1, 2005 the Freedom of Information Act was introduced, which gave people the right to access information held by public authorities.
It has been hailed as a ‘triumph for transparency’, but it wasn’t popular with everyone.
In his memoirs Tony Blair lamented the FoI Act as one of his greatest mistakes as prime minister, writing that he had been a “naive, foolish, irresponsible nincompoop” to introduce it.
Since then it has become an indispensable tool for journalists, allowing the M.E.N. and other local and national news organisations to unearth startling revelations that might otherwise have remained buried.
Perhaps the most famous use of the legislation, which enlightened the public to its potential, was by investigative journalist Heather Brooke. Through it she exposed the 2009 “expenses scandal”, which revealed what our politicians were claiming money for.
Through a series of Freedom of Information requests, Parliamentarians eventually disclosed a widespread misuse of allowances and expenses. In 2009, the Daily Telegraph ran the story that highlighted the colossal volume of claims by politicians. They ranged from a tin of dog food, to a lightbulb, to £90,000 spent on the upkeep of an MP’s country estate. And perhaps the most infamous of all – a Tory MP’s £1,645 expenses claim for an ornamental island house for the ducks in his pond.
Sir Peter Viggers, MP, put in an expenses claim for £1,645 for this ornamental duck house.
(Image: PA Real Life)
Unedited details of MPs’ expenses including address details showed the practice of “flipping”, that is, changing the registered main address for various tax and expense purposes.
Greater Manchester MPs were amongst those caught in the scandal’s net. Public anger indicated that privacy is not an absolute right – especially when taxpayers’ money is being spent.
It resulted in numerous resignations, sackings, de-selections, retirement announcements and even jail sentences, as well as public apologies. In all, 392 politicians were ordered to repay £1.3million of misclaimed expenses. It also led to the creation of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, ending the self-regulation of MPs’ pay and expenses.
The Manchester Evening News has used the legislation to expose matters of huge public importance over the last few years.
Here are just some of those we have uncovered.
Sir Cyril Smith ‘bullied’ police investigating child sex abuse allegations
An M.E.N. investigation in 2013 uncovered secret files that showed how the late Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith tried to bully police who were investigating claims he had molested young boys. Records obtained through an FOI request revealed he went on a ‘fishing expedition’ to Rochdale police station in 1970, demanding to be told why detectives were investigating him and asking for the names of his accusers.
The late Sir Cyril Smith, Liberal MP for Rochdale.
(Image: PA)
Sir Cyril, who was then a prominent councillor, also asked to be told if he was going to be charged so he could decide whether to stand for MP at the next election. Officers went on to submit a file of evidence but prosecutors eventually decided not to pursue the case, allowing Sir Cyril to realise his ambition of a Parliamentary career.
Greater Manchester Police have since publicly acknowledged that Sir Cyril did abuse young boys and the Crown Prosecution Service has admitted: “The decision made in 1970 would not be made today.”
How officials let sex offenders, paedophiles, and a rapist drive your taxi
In 2014 we revealed sex offenders, paedophiles, and a rapist were among hundreds of convicted criminals who had been given licences to drive taxis.
The MEN revealed how sex offenders, paedophiles and a rapist had been given licences to drive taxis
Data released after an FOI request to Manchester council exposed that 292 crooks have been granted licences since 2007, allowing them to pick up vulnerable customers, including school children, disabled people and lone women.
Stolen hospital laptops contained details of more than 10,000 patients
In 2010, through freedom of information laws, we found that two laptops stolen from The Christie in 2009 contained private information about more than 10,000 patients. The computers, which held names, addresses, dates of birth and personal medical details including test results, were stolen during break-ins at locked offices at the Withington cancer hospital.
The Christie at Withington
(Image: MEN MEDIA)
In a separate incident, a computer which held the names, addresses, dates of births and medical information about almost 700 patients was stolen from a locked office in the neurosurgical department at Salford Royal Hospital. The computer was protected with a password.
Spate of clown crime across the region
In one of the weirder stories of 2014, we revealed how police dealt with a spate of crimes committed by people dressed as clowns. A total of 19 incidents took place.
An FOI submitted by the MEN revealed a bizarre spree of crimes committed by clowns
Disguised with colourful wigs and white face paint, they carried out bogus charity collections, vandalised property and even carried out robberies, according to call logs released by GMP under freedom of information laws.
Two children aged 7 and 8 suspected of rape
In 2015 we reported how two children aged seven and eight were suspected of committing rape by police the previous year. The pair were two of nearly 1000 children in Greater Manchester suspected of committing crimes in the previous three years.
How much GMP paid police informants
Police informants were paid more than £600,000 by GMP over a four-year period. Figures, obtained by the M.E.N. under a Freedom of Information request, revealed that between 2010 and 2014, a total of £618,000 was paid out. The force refused to reveal in which high-profile cases money was handed over.
GMP’s Headquarters
(Image: ABNM Photography)
Loyalty payments of £2,000 and recruitment from South Africa to fix social care crisis
In October 2023, the M.E.N’s LDR team revealed Greater Manchester’s councils had spent more than £123m on social care staff from agencies since 2020 as they battled to fill hundreds of vacancies for adult and children social worker roles, and to recruit and retain carers.
A Freedom of Information request found out exactly how much each council in Greater Manchester has spent in three years to maintain their staffing levels in the social care sector – totalling £123,242,762.
The social care sector is vital for many of our elderly and vulnerable.
(Image: PA Real Life)
Oldham’s children services boss described their use as ‘expensive’, and revealed how a single agency social worker can cost ‘£20,000 in fees alone’. Oldham was using innovative measures like £2,000 loyalty payments for staff who stay for two years.
Meanwhile, Bury Council told us that the recruitment and retention of both social workers and social care staff was a problem across the country – and that they were looking to South Africa for social workers. However Salford Council, which has its own Social Work Academy, says it has a ‘lower turnover rate’ than peers, and is converting agency staff into permanent staff.
Manchester Council raked in over £10m in bus lane fines from ONE street
In December 2023 we revealed how Manchester Council raked in more than £10m from bus lane fines on just one street in 17 months. A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed that thousands of motorists had been fined for driving along the Oxford Road bus gate. The bus gate means that parts of the road are only open to buses, black cabs and pedal cycles from 6am to 9pm every day.
Bus lane near Victoria Station brings in £1.5m for council
Another story on a whopping amount of cash earned by the council from bus lane fines. A 200-yard stretch of bus lane in Manchester city centre raked in almost £1.5m in fines in five years, the Manchester Evening News revealed last month.
The stretch of bus lane runs from outside Victoria Station down Hunts Bank, near the Manchester Arena. Figures obtained by the M.E.N. show thousands of drivers are being snared in it each year, earning Manchester council hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue.
The bus lane leading from Victoria Station down to Hunts Bank in Manchester City Centre.
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Town hall bosses say bus lane fines are a ‘proven and effective’ way of reducing traffic and ensuring public transport ‘has a clear route’ through the city centre. The signage is clear and gives drivers ‘more than enough time’ to find an alternative route, they say.
In 2015, the M.E.N. reported how the single bus lane was earning the city council a staggering £770,000 a year. The most recent figures, obtained via a Freedom of Information request, show those numbers have come down somewhat in recent years.
The men beaten up for being gay
In 2022, figures obtained by the Manchester Evening News revealed the number of recorded hate crimes more than doubled between 2017 and 2021. GMP said they have got better at recording crimes, but also say the popularity of the Gay Village, a ‘toxic atmosphere’ around trans rights, the re-opening bars after Covid, and increased victim confidence in reporting were all factors.
Two brave victims who spoke of their ordeal to the Manchester Evening News after becoming targets for hate crime.
At the time of writing the article, we asked Greater Manchester Police for a breakdown of hate crimes against LGTBQ+ people reported to GMP.
The data provided revealed that in the past four fully recorded years, reports of hate crime have more than doubled in the region, from 905 incidents reported in 2017, to 2,107 in 2021. This is a rise of 132.8 per cent. The figures also reveal the numbers of suspects who have been charged – 67 suspects in 2017, and 106 in 2021.
So far in 2022, data recorded up to September 12 showed 1,433 recorded crimes, already more than the 1,345 recorded in the entirety of 2020. And between 2020 and 2021, the latest fully recorded year, there was a 56.7 per cent increase in hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people in our region, from 1,345 to 2,107.
More than 10,000 patients waited over 24 hours to be admitted to A&E
Last year the Manchester Evening News reported how over 10,000 patients waited over 24 hours in A&E before being admitted to hospitals across Greater Manchester in 2023. It came as over 100,000 elderly patients waited over 24 hours at A&E before being admitted to hospitals in England in the same year.
The information came from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to hospital trusts by the Liberal Democrats. The data showed that a total of 10,645 patients had to wait over 24 hours in A&E before being admitted to hospitals in Greater Manchester in 2023.
It was one of numerous FOI-based surveys which have explored different aspects of the pressures on hospital A&E departments and their consequences. It exemplifies how FOI can often be used to monitor how public services are performing, whether targets are being met in practice, and how badly they may be missed in some cases.
The impact of FOI requests and the cultural changes they bring
Nationally, the FOI Act has triggered important cultural changes. Food hygiene ratings for hundreds of thousands of restaurants, cafes and shops are now publicly available thanks to Freedom of Information.
In the early years after the act was introduced, Bridgend Council in south Wales refused an FOI request for a copy of a food hygiene inspection report for a local hotel. But it was then overruled by the Information Commissioner, whose decision effectively set a precedent that such reports should be in the public domain.
Now, food hygiene scores are routinely disclosed and many outlets display their own ratings themselves. Most of the information is easily available on the website of the Food Standards Agency.
A Food Standards Agency rating certificate.
(Image: Getty Images)
In 2019, the M.E.N. reported that Manchester United and Manchester City were charged a total of £1.2m for policing football matches the previous season – more than two-and-a-half times the amount of all London clubs combined.
The cost of policing games at Manchester United and Manchester City was the highest in the country
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Greater Manchester Police billed United £625,236 for policing games that season, according to data released to the M.E.N. via Freedom of Information requests. That was more than any other club in Britain paid for policing. City was billed £595,822 – the second highest total in the country.
Speaking about the importance of Freedom of Information, Information Commissioner John Edwards said: “Transparency and accountability are fundamental to our democracy – the impact of decisions made by public bodies can affect us all in some way.
“So it is right that we celebrate twenty years of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) coming into force this year, as well as twenty-five years since this crucial legislation, which underpins people’s constitutional and legal right to request information, was passed by parliament.
“As the regulator of the FOIA, we provide guidance to the public to help them make FOI requests, supporting their right to know why decisions impacting their lives are made and how their taxes are spent.
“People have the right to ask for information from a public authority such as documents, emails and recordings of meetings. They can use their rights to find out about local issues like why a decision has been made to close a local hospital, or information about water quality, through to national policy matters like why benefit entitlements have changed or how we planned to handle a pandemic.”