{"id":972,"date":"2013-03-06T11:58:15","date_gmt":"2013-03-06T11:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/?p=972"},"modified":"2021-10-18T08:24:32","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T08:24:32","slug":"discover-your-councils-torch-relay-spending-and-help-find-out-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/discover-your-councils-torch-relay-spending-and-help-find-out-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover your council&#8217;s Torch Relay spending &#8211; and help find out more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/maps\/torchrelaycosts.html\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-973\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-973\" alt=\"Olympic Torch Relay Spending Database\" src=\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/OlympicTorchRelaySpendingDatabase.png\" width=\"618\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/OlympicTorchRelaySpendingDatabase.png 618w, http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/OlympicTorchRelaySpendingDatabase-300x178.png 300w, http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/OlympicTorchRelaySpendingDatabase-500x296.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re <strong>opening up our database of \u00a34m of spending<\/strong> based on FOI request responses from 100 local councils and police authorities.<\/p>\n<p>As we reported last week, the responses <a href=\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/raided-reserves-extra-staff-and-lots-of-bunting-how-did-your-council-foot-the-13m-torch-relay-bill\/\">contain some interesting budget decisions<\/a> &#8211; from a specific staff position in one authority lasting 18 months to the excessive cost of bunting. What can you find in the figures?<\/p>\n<p>Here are just some more that we&#8217;ve found:<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Two authorities &#8211; <del>Aberdeenshire<\/del><a href=\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/correction-cctv-spending-by-aberdeen-city-not-aberdeenshire-council\/\">*<\/a>\u00a0<strong>Aberdeen<\/strong> and<strong> Lewisham<\/strong> &#8211; spent \u00a37,398\u00a0of their torch relay budgets on <strong>new\u00a0CCTV cameras<\/strong>. Why? And how are they being used now?<\/li>\n<li>The torch&#8217;s hour in<strong>\u00a0Dundee<\/strong>\u00a0came at a cost of \u00a330,000, all of which came from the Environment budget. This was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dundeecity.gov.uk\/minutes\/fulltext?meeting_ref=4575\">approved in this meeting<\/a>\u00a0(blink and you&#8217;ll <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dundeecity.gov.uk\/minutes\/article?articleKey=59712\">miss it<\/a>), but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dundeecity.gov.uk\/minutes\/agendanote?an_id=AN37-2011\">the agenda note is missing<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kensington and Chelsea<\/strong> were the only council to have an &#8216;Event Producer&#8217; in their costs &#8211; that person charged \u00a36,468, although other authorities may have included these costs under general event production.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Falkirk<\/strong> paid \u00a3471 for an &#8217;emergency counselling service&#8217; &#8211; was it used? Why did they anticipate a need for it?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lancashire<\/strong> do not appear to know how much the torch relay cost: they were the only authority to refuse\u00a0our FOI request saying\u00a0it would take over 18 staff hours to collate.<\/li>\n<li>And on a more quirky side,<strong> Bath and North East Somerset<\/strong> costed a &#8216;World Record Attempt&#8217; on the budget at \u00a31,582<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can <a href=\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/maps\/torchrelaycosts.html\"><strong>search the database here<\/strong><\/a> (it&#8217;s case-sensitive so capitals matter) or below:<\/p>\n<div id=\"container\">\n<div id=\"fd_main\" style=\"width: 556px;\">\n<div class=\"search_widget\" id=\"full_search\" style=\"float: left; width: 556px;\">\n<h4>SEARCH THE DATABASE<\/h4>\n<p class=\"fd_note\">Text search is case sensitive. Leave fields blank to see the entire database (may cause longer load times).<\/p>\n<p><label for=\"search_text\">Council includes <\/label> <input id=\"search_text\" type=\"text\" value=\"\" onfocus=\"changeSearchButton1()\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"num_search_bit\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"name\" style=\"display: none;\">\n<p><input id=\"range_num\" type=\"text\" value=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Powered by <a href=\"http:\/\/multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu\/tools\/freedive\">freeDive<\/a> <input id=\"submit_button\" style=\"float: right; color: #000;\" onclick=\"fd_refresh()\" type=\"submit\" value=\"SEARCH\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"page_loader\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"dashboard\" style=\"width: 600px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; float: left;\">\n<h4 style=\"font-size: 14px !important;\">Explore your results<\/h4>\n<p><b>Instructions:<\/b> Use the filter(s) below to customize your search results. Use the tool above to perform a new search.<\/p>\n<div class=\"control\" id=\"control1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"control\" id=\"control2\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"fd_note\" style=\"width: 100%; margin-bottom: .3em;\">Click on a column label to resort the table.<\/div>\n<div class=\"chart1\" id=\"chart1\">\n<p style=\"font-size: 1.3em; color: #772327; text-align: center !important; padding: 60px 0 20px;\">Fetching data&#8230; Thank you for waiting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #3f3f3f; text-align: center !important; padding: 20px 0;\">Searches with a large number of results may take longer to load.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script charset=\"utf-8\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\nif (anyquery == false) { $('div#dashboard').hide(); }; $('input#search_text').val(fdtq); $('input#range_num').val(fdnq); function changeSearchButton1() { document.getElementById('submit_button').value = 'SEARCH'; }; function fd_refresh() { var fdop = $('#sheet_op').val(); var fdnq = $('#range_num').val(); var fdtq = $('#search_text').val(); var sURL = window.location.href; sURL = sURL.replace(\/(fdtq=.*&#038;|fdtq=.*$)\/gi,''); sURL = sURL.replace(\/(fdnq=.*&#038;|fdnq=.*$)\/gi,''); sURL = sURL.replace(\/(fdop=.*&#038;|fdop=.*$)\/gi,''); sURL = sURL.replace(\/(fdall=.*&#038;|fdall=.*$)\/gi,''); sURL = sURL.replace(\/&#038;$\/,''); var qs = ''; var found = sURL.search('\\\\?'); if (found == -1) { qs = \"?\"; }; if (fdnq == \"Enter a number\") {fdnq = ''}; if (fdtq == \"Enter case-sensitive text\") {fdtq = ''}; if (fdnq == '' &#038;&#038; fdtq == '') { var allrecs = true; }; if (allrecs) { qs = qs + \"fdall=true\" ; } else { qs = qs + \"&#038;fdop=\" + encodeURIComponent(fdop) + \"&#038;fdnq=\" + encodeURIComponent(fdnq) + \"&#038;fdtq=\" + encodeURIComponent(fdtq); }; sURL = sURL + qs; window.location.replace(sURL); }\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script charset=\"utf-8\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n$(document).ready(function(){ $('input#range_num').focus(function() { if($(this).val() == 'Enter a number') $(this).val(''); }).blur(function() { if( $(this).val() == '') $(this).val('Enter a number'); }); $('input#search_text').focus(function() { if($(this).val() == 'Enter case-sensitive text') $(this).val(''); }).blur(function() { if( $(this).val() == '') $(this).val('Enter case-sensitive text'); }); if (anyquery == false) { document.getElementById('submit_button').value='SEE ALL RECORDS';} else{ document.getElementById('submit_button').value='SEARCH'; }; });\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><!--\n#fd_main p {font: 13px\/16px Arial; margin-bottom:10px !important; padding:0;} #fd_main h4 {font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-transform:uppercase;text-align:left; padding:0 0 5px 0; margin:0;} #fd_main label {font: bold 13px\/24px Arial; padding: 0 5px 0 0; float:left; vertical-align: middle;} #fd_main input, textarea, select, button {font: 13px\/16px Arial; color:#959595; vertical-align: middle;} .fd_note{font-family:Arial;color:#5E5E5E; font-size:.8em; border:none; padding:0;} div.search_widget{background:#E1E1E1;background:-webkit-gradient(linear,left top, left bottom,from(#FFF),to(#E1E1E1));background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top,#FFF,#E1E1E1);background:-moz-linear-gradient(top,#FFF,#E1E1E1);background:-ms-linear-gradient(top,#FFF,#E1E1E1);background:-o-linear-gradient(top,#FFF,#E1E1E1);border:2px solid #E1E1E1;padding:20px;-moz-border-radius:10px;-webkit-border-radius:10px; margin-bottom:20px;} div.control{margin-bottom: 15px; color:black;height:26px;} div.chart1{float: left;} .header {background-color: #5B5B5B; color: #FFFFFF; font-family:Arial, sans-serif; text-align:left; font-size:0.8em; text-transform:uppercase; font-weight:600; letter-spacing:1px; line-height:1.4em; border:none;} .row { background-color: #FFFFFF; color: #3F3F3F; font-family:inherit; font-size:0.9em;} .oddRow { background-color: #F5F5F5; color: #3F3F3F; font-family:inherit; text-align:left; font-size:0.9em;} .hoverRow { background-color: #CDCDCD; font-family:inherit; text-align:left; font-size:0.9em; } .selectedRow { background-color: #DCDCDC; color: #3F3F3F; text-align: center; font-family:inherit; text-align:left; font-size:0.9em; } .cell, table {padding:2px;border:none;} .headCell {padding:0;} .goog-menu {font-family:Arial;} .goog-menuitem-content {color: #3F3F3F;} .goog-menuitem-highlight,.goog-menuitem-hover {background-color: #F0F0F0;border-color: #F0F0F0;} .goog-menu-button-focused .goog-menu-button-outer-box,.goog-menu-button-focused .goog-menu-button-inner-box {border-color: #B1B1B1; margin} .goog-menu-button-inner-box {font: 13px\/18px Arial, sans-serif; margin:2px 0; padding:0 5px;} .goog-menu-button-hover .goog-menu-button-outer-box,.goog-menu-button-hover .goog-menu-button-inner-box {border-color: #B1B1B1!important;} .goog-menu-button-active,.goog-menu-button-open {background-color: #F0F0F0;border-color: #B1B1B1;background-position: bottom left} .goog-menu-button-focused .goog-menu-button-outer-box,.goog-menu-button-focused .goog-menu-button-inner-box {border-color: #B1B1B1} .google-visualization-controls-slider-horizontal {border: 0px; background-color: #DBDBDB; border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; outline:none; height:8px;} .google-visualization-controls-slider-thumb {background-color: #616161; border: none;width: 12px; height: 12px; } .google-visualization-controls-slider-horizontal .google-visualization-controls-slider-handle {height: 8px;} .google-visualization-controls-slider-horizontal .google-visualization-controls-slider-thumb {top: -2px; left-margin: 8px; border-radius: 2px; -moz-border-radius: 2px;} .google-visualization-controls-slider-handle {background-color: #616161; opacity: .6; height: 4px} .google-visualization-controls-rangefilter-thumblabel {font: 13px\/24px Arial; color: #3F3F3F;padding: 0 0.5em} #page-loader { position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0%; left: 0; right: 0%; background-color: white; z-index: 99; display: none; text-align: center; width: 100%; padding-top: 25px; }\n--><\/style>\n<p>*<a href=\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/correction-cctv-spending-by-aberdeen-city-not-aberdeenshire-council\/\">See the correction here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re opening up our database of \u00a34m of spending based on FOI request responses from 100 local councils and police authorities. As we reported last week, the responses contain some interesting budget decisions &#8211; from a specific staff position in &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/discover-your-councils-torch-relay-spending-and-help-find-out-more\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[693,695,300,694,697,696,698,584,143],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=972"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1213,"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions\/1213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/helpmeinvestigate.com\/olympics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}