Media roundup

Ipswich Evening Star - Hospital forced to close 20 times
"Figures published under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the hospital was operating on what it calls 'blue lights only' status on 24 occasions – with some of these periods lasting more than 24 hours."


South London Press - What happened to freedom requests
"A town hall is accused of stalling over Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. But Southwark council has hit back at claims it is flouting rules of the new act - in force since January. Opposition members accuse South-wark's FOI office of failing to respond promptly to genuine requests."

Norfolk Now - police 'away days' cost £93,000
"Norfolk police spent £93,000 on hiring premises for conferences and other events in the last year, despite moving into new headquarters less than four years ago. Much of this was spent on 'away days' and training sessions, often at hotels a few miles from the force's £52.3m Operations and Commun-ications Centre at Wymondham. The revelations, under the Freedom of Information Act, come two months after the EDP revealed that last summer's Police Gala Day had not raised any money for local charities and ended up costing the force £11,000."

Guardian - NHS continues open source software trials
"A response made yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act by Connecting for Health, the Department of Health agency which manages the £6.2bn national programme for IT, said that none of its prime contractors were providing solutions based on Linux, the open source operating system which competes with Microsoft Windows. However, the statement said that this was "likely to change in due course," and that some NHS organisations already use Linux with software provided by Oracle."

Cumbria online- WINTER’S STORMS ARE STILL TAKING BIG FINANCIAL TOLL
"freak storms – and the bill is still rising. The Whitehaven News can today reveal the costs incurred by council departments after the ferocious storms which battered the borough.We have used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a detailed breakdown of the authority’s expenditure."