RADAR Round-Up: Your monthly look at the stories delivered by the RADAR-AI editorial team
By Adam Care 01/02/2024In the first of a regular spotlight on RADAR, we look at the stories the RADAR team has produced in the last month, sharing examples of the type of quality news stories that can be created fusing both AI automation and human journalism.
The new year has meant a raft of new public datasets have been released, giving the data journalists at RADAR AI plenty to work with in January.
The five-strong team works with national data from a wide range of sources, and uses it to produce thousands of unique, regionalised stories every month.
These are made available through the RADAR wire to subscribers in the regional press, who use our copy as the basis for stories in local newspapers and websites right across the country.
Here are some of the highlights from January.
- ‘Ghost patients’
GP surgeries could be receiving thousands of pounds for ‘ghost patients’ – people on their books who may not exist.
Latest NHS figures show the number of registered patients far exceeds local population estimates, meaning surgeries could be getting funding for patients who have long since moved away.
Addressing the story, the TaxPayers’ Alliance warned “the public is unfairly subsidising GP practices”.
https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/24027901.hundreds-thousands-ghost-patients-merseyside-gps/
- Income Inequality
Pay for the bosses of the UK’s top companies now stands at £3.8m a year, according to a new analysis from the High Pay Centre.
Using these figures, and census population data, we calculated how quickly it would take them to earn the average annual wage in each part of the country.
https://mhv.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24028602.top-ceos-earn-average-southampton-annual-salary-days/
- Childcare costs
Parents are being ‘locked out’ of work by high childcare costs, a children’s charity has warned. After surveying early-years childcare providers, the Department for Education estimates parents in England are paying £6.07 an hour for childcare for two-year-olds.
However hidden within these figures are significant regional disparities, with high costs in some areas preventing parents from being able to return to the workforce, stunting economic growth.
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/24039933.lewisham-highest-childcare-costs-south-east-london/
- Religious Hate Crime
Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crime has increased since the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel conflict. Using figures obtained by PA under Freedom of Information laws, we showed how many incidents had been reported to each police force in the country.
Jewish charities called the findings “shocking” and called on perpetrators to be identified and prosecuted.
https://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/24042875.rise-recorded-antisemitic-hate-crimes-west-midlands/
- Pregnant Smokers
Fewer people are smoking while pregnant – but the Government has still missed its target of getting the figure below 6%.
NHS figures show maternal smoking rates fell from 9.1% in the three months to September 2022-23 to 7.5% in the same period of 2023-24. But that’s still well below the Government’s target of 6%.
Action on Smoking and Health said the findings show it’s “vital” pregnant women are offered more support to quit.
- High Emission Jobs
The transition to net zero is essential to combat the effects of climate change, but if policy-makers aren’t careful it could also prove devastating to communities across the country.
We used data provided by the Work Foundation at Lancaster University to identify how many workers in each part of the country are employed in high-polluting industries, such as coal and gas extraction.
According to foundation director Ben Harrison, the Government should prioritise extra training and support for workers in these industries, to ensure they can develop new skills as their jobs are phased out.
https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/24046765.quarter-people-barrow-work-high-emission-industries/
- GP Workforce
The GP workforce is in “crisis” according to the British Medical Association, as new figures show only a marginal increase in the number of fully-trained doctors working in England.
Almost 100 fully-trained GPs have joined the workforce in the 12 months since November 2022. But this pales into insignificance next to the 1,900 who have left the NHS workforce in the last eight years.
All this is despite the Government’s pledge to recruit an extra 6,000 GPs by 2025.
- Junior Doctors’ Strike
More than 113,000 NHS appointments have now been cancelled due to junior doctor strikes in England this month.
Medical leaders and frontline staff are concerned about rising flu cases and the cold weather causing increased hospitalisations, as doctors were on strike for a six-day period at the start of the month.
Healthwatch England said it’s patients who bear the brunt of industrial action, and urged the Government and the BMA to redouble their efforts to reach an agreement.
https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24055316.royal-berks-hospital-cancels-appointments-strikes/
- Primary School Performance
Using the latest exam results data, we’ve ranked the highest-performing primary schools in every part of England, showing the top-ranked schools in each local authority.
The Department for Education said England outperformed the international average in maths, reading and science.
- Fly-Tipping
The overall number of fly-tipping incidents in England decreased last year – but there were more incidents of larger waste being dumped.
There were also fewer fines given out for illegally dumping waste, although the cost of the average fine did increase by 13% to £526.
Keep Britain Tidy called for harsher sentences for those who dump waste, calling for ‘professional fly-tippers’ to be jailed if caught.
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