Media update

National News

The Guardian - Without a prayer
"Using the Freedom of Information Act, Education Guardian discovered that, in September 2005, Canon Slade admitted 268 11-year-olds, from 87 different primary schools. Over a quarter of those children were not from Bolton - families send their children to the school from Bury, Blackburn, Salford and Manchester. The eight primary schools within easy travelling distance sent just 39 children."

The Guardian - Information commissioner clashes with Whitehall over deleting civil servants' names in FOI requests
"Civil servants are refusing to accept a landmark ruling from the independent information commissioner which forbids them from routinely deleting their names before releasing documents. Freedom of information campaigners yesterday condemned the practice of keeping identities secret. They were also angered by proposals from the lord chancellor, Lord Falconer, to reject outright many FOI requests on grounds of cost, by tightening up the rules about use of civil servants' time. Campaigners say this could block thousands of requests."

The Independent - Tables turned as health inspectors tell Ramsay: 'Clean that freezer now'
"So you might think that when local authority health inspectors called at Ramsay's kitchens they would have found them spotless. But you'd be wrong. Their inspections, obtained by The Independent under the Freedom of Information Act, are likely to embarrass the celebrity star of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares as well as some of London's other leading restaurateurs, whose reports have also been seen."

Regional News

Leeds Today - SCHOOLS IN £3M DEBTS CRISIS
"Schools in West Yorkshire are being crippled by debts of millions of pounds, shocking figures show.
One Leeds secondary school, Intake High School Arts College was £210,850 in the red, during the 2004 to 2005 financial year. The state of the finances of schools in West Yorkshire was laid bare when the Department for Education and Skills released documents under the Freedom of Information Act."