File on 4 Investigates

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Electricity Prices: A Shock to the System? Oct 01, 2013

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The Government wants more wind power and nuclear energy to supply our electricity, but how well is it delivering that plan? In Scotland where conditions for renewable sources are good, there's been a rush to cash in on generous subsidies for wind farms. But the infrastructure can't cope so companies are also being paid handsomely to dump the energy they produce. And, deals which include subsidies are being concluded behind closed doors between Government officials and the nuclear industry for a new generation of power stations. What's this going to add to our fuel bills? Allan Urry investigates.

Producer: Rob Cave.

Secrecy and Surveillance Sep 24, 2013

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Recent revelations about secret mass surveillance programmes have raised fears about potential abuses of individual privacy in favour of national security. With requests to intercept personal communications data on the rise, just who is collecting the information and for what purpose? Even local authorities can now use surveillance powers to track employees and monitor the activities of residents. So what rights do people have when they feel they have been unfairly targeted? Jenny Chryss examines the role of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal - the little known body that considers complaints from those who've been under surveillance by the state. Critics talk of an "Orwellian system" in which cases are shrouded in too much secrecy. The Tribunal usually sits in private, with claimants barred from hearing evidence and with little detailed explanation of its decisions. So where should the balance lie between openness and effective oversight?

Producer: Gail Champion.

What Price Cheap Clothes? Sep 17, 2013

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Will the Rana Plaza factory tragedy mean Bangladeshi garment workers no longer have to work in death traps? It's five months on from the collapse of the 8 storey building in Dhaka, in which more than a thousand workers died, and several thousand lost arms or legs or were paralysed. Jane Deith reports from Dhaka on what's happened since. Just how much medical and financial help have survivors and families of the dead received?

Campaigners said the disaster should be a "game changer" in forcing international brands who source cheap clothes in Bangladesh to take more responsibility for conditions within the factories they use. Safety inspections of hundreds of premises are due to begin in earnest. But the Western manufacturers are split on who should pay for expensive improvements - the clothing brands or the factory owners? It's estimated that it could cost $3bn to bring all the factories up to scratch.

But there are those who argue that Western shoppers who buy the cheap clothes, and the brands that sell them, don't deserve all the blame. The Bangladeshi government continues to limit the power of trade unions and is accused of failing to act against powerful manufacturing bosses when people die in their factories.

The safety campaigners agree that Western brands pulling out of Bangladesh would be the worst result for the country's four million garment workers and the families who rely on their earnings.

So is it possible to keep them in work and keep them safe?

Producer: Sally Chesworth.

A Place of Safety? Jul 30, 2013

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Psychiatric hospitals have a duty to keep their patients safe, which means taking extra care with patients suffering acute depression who may be at risk of self-harm.

So campaigners argue that when a patient commits suicide, it is vital that a thorough investigation should discover any failings by doctors and nurses and any weaknesses in hospital systems of communication or levels of staffing.

But, unlike deaths in prison or police custody, fatalities in psychiatric units are not reviewed from the start by a fully independent investigator. Initial reports are usually prepared by staff of the NHS and kept confidential to the health officials and family concerned. Only at the subsequent inquest does an independent inquiry take over.

Critics call this 'a recipe for cover-up by the NHS'.

File on 4 reports on a series of suicides in one psychiatric unit which have led the local coroner to accuse the NHS of 'a catalogue of failures stemming from an institutional complacency'.

Reporter - Gerry Northam Producer - Gail Champion.

Coal Comfort? Jul 23, 2013

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The amount of coal burned in Britain's power stations rocketed in 2012 with ministers relying on the fuel to help keep the lights on in the next few years. But coal mining in Britain is now in deep trouble. Two of the UK's major mining firms have collapsed and a third is in trouble following a huge underground fire in February. The fire was at Daw Mill in Warwickshire, one of the few remaining deep mines in the UK. Coming on the back of competition from cheap coal from abroad, the costly fire plunged mine operators UK Coal into financial crisis and has put the pensions of workers at serious risk. As the government negotiates to try to help pick up the pieces Julian O'Halloran discovers UK Coal's problems come on top of heavy penalties imposed in recent years by safety regulators over fatal accidents underground. Meanwhile the collapse of two key operators in Scotland has left a trail of unrestored opencast sites which local people say are blighting their areas. They blame national and local government for failing to force the mining companies to clear up their mess. So what does the future hold for the industry, the miners and local communities. And at what cost to the taxpayer? Producer: Nicola Dowling.

Tobacco: The Lobbyists Jul 16, 2013

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Last week, the Government dropped plans to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes in England. It said it wanted to wait and see what happens in Australia where the measure was introduced earlier this year. Labour and health campaigners accused the Government of caving in to the tobacco lobby. A claim it has denied. In Europe, too, MEPs are considering a new law aimed at deterring young people from smoking. The Tobacco Products Directive proposes, among other things, a ban on flavoured cigarettes and increasing the size of health warnings. Jane Deith travels to Brussels and hears claims and counter-claims: of questionable tactics by the tobacco industry and from tobacco lobbyists who say their actions are above board and they have the right to protect their companies' interests. And she also talks to the main players in an alleged corruption scandal which some say could have brought down the European Commission itself. Reporter: Jane Deith Producer: Paul Grant.

Faith, Hope and... Tax Avoidance Jul 09, 2013

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While the G8 summit of world leaders has agreed a global deal to ensure big business pays its dues, concerns about tax avoidance go wider.

A group of MPs has just examined the case of the Cup Trust, a charity which tried to claim £46 million in tax relief but spent just £55,000 on good works. The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Margaret Hodge, concluded the Trust's purpose "was to avoid tax".

And she said this wasn't an isolated case. The Committee heard that HMRC investigates around 300 charities a year over concerns about tax fraud.

In this week's File on 4 Fran Abrams examines the blurred lines around charities and tax.

What happens when genuine charities find 'donations' are designed so the donors can claim Gift Aid payments from the tax man? And how easy is it to register a charity whose main aim is actually tax avoidance?

Is the 160 year-old Charity Commission up to the job of policing 21st Century charities?

Producer: Ian Muir-Cochrane.

NHS: Pricing Patients Jul 02, 2013

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NHS hospitals in England are back in the spotlight with a crisis in A&E and a growing number of cancelled operations. But does the real problem lie in the way the Government is currently funding them? The Department of Health uses a system called Payment by Results to try to ensure better patient care is delivered more efficiently. However Allan Urry hears from hospitals which say they're being treated unfairly and losing millions because of perverse tariffs which short-change them. Critics say the payments system is no longer fit for purpose. So how deep is the financial crisis facing our hospitals? Could budget cuts and the rising costs of admissions push some of them over the edge?

PRODUCER: EMMA FORDE EDITOR: DAVID ROSS.

Petrol Prices Jun 25, 2013

Show notes

The way in which oil is traded on commodities markets is coming under close scrutiny. Last month, officers of the European Commission raided the London offices of BP and Shell along with Norway's Statoil company and the leading price reporting agency Platts. They said they were investigating claims of collusion to manipulate the prices of oil and biofuels on the international markets.

A leading city insider tells File On 4 that the price-reporting mechanism for oil is 'wide open to abuse'

So are petrol prices being kept artificially high by hidden forces beyond the normal workings of supply and demand ?

Gerry Northam investigates and asks whether British regulators are proving slow to recognise the potential problem.

Producer: David Lewis.

Council Asset Sales Jun 18, 2013

Show notes

Local authorities across the UK are facing tough decisions as they try to balance their books in the face of unprecedented funding cuts - with many opting to sell land and buildings to reduce spending and bring in much needed capital.

But, one person's white elephant is another's much loved local facility, so the choice of what goes on the market often causes great public resentment.

Jenny Chryss visits four local authorities where announcements about asset sales have caused serious questions to be asked. She finds allegations of decisions taken behind closed doors, sums that don't stack up and property that could end up being mothballed for years to come.

So are councils getting value for money for their tax payers? Or are they out of their depth when they negotiate with the private sector, especially in one of the harshest property markets for years?

And with a major shift in the way councils are audited, is there a danger that mistakes could go unnoticed and unchallenged?

Producer: Rob Cave.

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