With British Steel going into liquidation last month File on 4 investigates the story behind the collapse of the iconic British brand. Reporting from the frontline in Scunthorpe, the programme hears from those in the town fearful of a future that could see 5000 workers losing their jobs and tens of thousands more indirectly.

The programme also looks at Greybull Capital – the investment company that bought British Steel for £1 from its previous owner Tata. But Greybull have a chequered history when it comes to their success in revitalising distressed concerns. File on 4 also asks if the government is doing enough to create a level playing field where British Steel can compete in a highly competitive world market.

Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images.

Last month, the government announced a £200 million pound fund to remove and replace Grenfell style cladding on 170 privately owned tower blocks.

One of the most widely used is High Pressure Laminate or HPL which is currently undergoing fire safety tests ordered by the government. Some experts say the cladding is very likely to fail the test.

File on 4 speaks to the families facing bills of more than 20 thousand pounds to remove HPL cladding and make their homes safe. They live in fear of a fire breaking out and since the hazard is no fault of their own, they believe the developers, the building owners or the Government should pay the cost of putting it right.

Public buildings, such as hospitals, are also having to pay to remove dangerous cladding. Eight hospitals had the same Aluminium Composite Material or ACM cladding as Grenfell tower. Only one has completed the work, while others are still taking it down or have closed wards while they decide how to deal with the problem.

The programme hears concerns that the disruption could have compromised patient safety.

Reporter: Melanie Abbott

On December 21st 2018, 94-year-old, World War 2 veteran, Reginald Herbert Thompson was taken to hospital after a fall at his home near Leicester. So began a journey which would see him transferred thirteen times, between five different hospitals, in the last ten weeks of his life.

Those who run the NHS claim that recent reforms will revolutionise the way frail patients are cared for. Older people like Reg will be looked after at home - an army of nurses, GP’s and other healthcare professionals working in tandem to provide ever more care in the community. It’s hoped these changes will ease the pressure on scarce hospital beds. But with the health service already straining to fill vacancies, will there really be enough nurses to meet that lofty ambition?

As the NHS struggles to cope with an ageing population, annual winter crises and staff shortages, Tom Wright investigates what Reg Thompson's story tells us about the future of the NHS.

Presenter: Tom Wright

Anti-obesity campaigners in Mexico, human rights advocates in London, and friends of the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi all claim they’ve been targeted by surveillance software normally used by law enforcement to track drug-dealers and terrorists.

File on 4 reveals compelling evidence that software is being used to track the work of journalists, activists and lawyers around the world. Paul Kenyon investigates the multi-billion pound ‘lawful surveillance’ industry. Sophisticated software can allow hackers to remotely install spyware on their targets’ phones. This gives them access to everything on the devices – including encrypted messages – and even allows them to control the microphone and camera.

So what are the options for those who are targeted and is there any way to control the development and use of commercially available software?

Presenter: Paul Kenyon

Photo credit; Valery Brozhinsky\Getty

The law says decisions about care for people who can not decide for themselves should be done collaboratively with the person’s best interests always at heart. So why do family members, feeling ignored and even intimidated, often find themselves in open conflict with councils and care providers?

In Scotland and Northern Ireland issues of who makes decisions about the best interests of a person who can’t make that decision themselves is covered by different laws. In practice, when the family or friends of a learning disabled person in Scotland don’t agree with how their loved-one is being cared for or treated, the law makes it easier for the dispute to go to court, with the parents or siblings more likely to be given guardianship. More than 2,700 families exercised this right in 2018-19.

Campaigners say poor training, lack of understanding of the law and shrinking budgets mean too often the legitimate concerns about care for people with learning disabilities, autism or mental health problems are being ignored. Claire Bolderson investigates.

Producer: Rob Cave

Photo credit: Katarzyna Bialasiewicz

Households in Britain are recycling more than ever, with millions of us dutifully sorting through our rubbish every week in an effort to help save the planet. But when the blue, green and brown bins are taken away, what really happens to our waste?

File on 4 goes digging through Britain’s multi-million pound recycling industry - and discovers it’s a dirty business.

The UK sends more than half its recyclable packaging overseas, selling our sorted plastics and paper to countries which need the raw material and will recycle it. But when File on 4 tracks where shipments are being sent - we discover they can have a devastating effect on the developing communities where they end up.

Reporter: Jane Deith

Children's homes offer sanctuary to young people whose childhoods have been disrupted by abuse, neglect or family breakdown.

More than 2,200 homes are spread across the country providing young people the opportunity to get their lives back on track.

For many, a residential home provides much needed stability and care when there had previously been none, and a vital opportunity to experience a settled childhood.

But with pressure on the children's social care sector mounting, File on 4 investigates whether some homes are failing to give young people the second chance they need. New research suggests concerning levels of police involvement in the lives of care home residents, and growing concerns about children absconding. Where do they go, and who's looking out for them?

As young people in residential care are particularly susceptible to grooming for sexual abuse and county lines activity, how can care home staff prevent predators from gaining access to them – and when a child is intent on absconding, what options do staff have to keep them safe?

Reporter: Paul Connolly

Photo credit: Sam Thomas\Getty

Opioids like morphine, tramadol and fentanyl are super-strength painkillers. They’re often prescribed by doctors for chronic pain, despite little evidence to say they’re helpful in it's treatment. Now, there is a growing recognition that over-prescribing of these drugs has led to addiction, harm or even death.

Producer: Alys Harte

Photo credit: Getty images

In the autumn of 2016 the authorities in France closed down a large migrant camp in Calais known as The Jungle.

At its height more than 9,000 people from around the world lived in the camp while attempting to make it across to the UK, often hiding in the back of lorries or packed into small boats. It was hoped the camp's closure would stem the number of people risking their lives to try to get to Britain. But more than two years on has it worked?

Over Christmas the Home Secretary Sajid Javid declared the number of migrants attempting to cross in boats a 'major incident' and since then more than 100 people have been picked up in 2019.

File in 4 investigates the British gangs making thousands of pounds and risking migrants' lives smuggling them across the Channel and reports on the attempts to break up their networks.

In France, concerted efforts have been made to stop another large camp being established in Calais and File on 4 asks whether the policy is succeeding in deterring migrants from travelling to the French coast, or whether it is simply driving people to take ever greater risks?

Reporter: Paul Kenyon

Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images.

You can't take money with you when you die.... or can you?

In this episode of File on 4 the stranger than fiction story that's the latest cryptocurrency scandal to leave tens of thousands of people out of pocket. The news about QuadrigaCX broke almost to the day that crypto-currencies celebrated a decade in existence. On this anniversary, we investigate the current state of the market and uncover how these sometimes tragic events have unfolded both here in the UK and across the world. With the UK government and other countries now considering attempting to regulate the market, we ask if these scandals could have been prevented and could now be avoided in the future.

Reporter: Paul Connolly

Photo credit: Reuters.