File on 4 Investigates

Tom Wright investigates the normalisation of drug taking amongst Britain’s students. A recent graduate, he says Class A drugs like MDMA are bought and sold with impunity by students across the country. The student bubble, like a music festival, has become an almost decriminalised space - where the chances of getting caught are perceived to be almost non-existent. Drug dealers brazenly target student areas, handing out business cards with a la carte menus of Class A and B drugs.

Unlike music festivals, where on-site drug testing is rapidly becoming the norm, universities do little to engage with harm reduction. Those that do risk widespread criticism for ‘normalising’ drug taking. Meanwhile Universities proclaim "zero tolerance" drugs policies and the police say they have neither the resources or the inclination to punish casual drug use.

Tom Wright investigates whether universities are doing enough to help their students and asks, could campus drug testing help keep our students safe?

If you’ve been affected by addiction, help and support is available:

Presenter: Tom Wright

Modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK are more prevalent than ever before.

Police estimate tens of thousands of victims are hidden in towns and cities across the country; many kidnapped then subjected to forced labour or sexual exploitation, often under the threat of violence.

But what happens to victims after they escape or have been rescued?

File on 4 investigates the government system designed to identify and support victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.

File on 4 investigates allegations that a failure to adequately protect victims means some face being drawn back into exploitation by the very gangs from whom they escaped in the first place.

With the Prime Minister describing modern slavery as "the great human-rights issue of our time" is enough being done to tackle the root causes and protect those unable to protect themselves?

Reporter: Paul Kenyon

Uganda is a country that has seen massive growth in the number of 'orphanages' providing homes to children, despite the numbers of orphans there decreasing. It's believed 80% of children now living in orphanages have at least one living parent.

The majority of the hundreds of orphanages operating in Uganda are illegal, unregistered and now are in a fight with a government trying to shut them down. Dozens on the government's list for closure are funded by charities and church groups based in the UK.

With widespread concerns about abuse, trafficking and exploitation of children growing up in orphanages are funders in the UK doing enough to make sure their donations aren't doing more harm than good?

Reporter: Anna Cavell

When secure training centres were launched nearly two decades ago they offered child offenders the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and get their lives back on track in a safe environment.

Today there are three units in England, Medway in Rochester, Oakhill in Milton Keynes and Rainsbrook in Rugby, which provide 30 hours of education a week as part of the rehabilitation process.

But the units have been dogged by serious concerns over the treatment of young people, including allegations of abuse, the inappropriate use of restraint and unsafe living conditions.

File on 4 investigates youth custody and reveals the scale of concern about life in secure training centres.

The Government has acknowledged there have been unacceptable levels of violence in youth custody and has recently announced a new generation of secure schools, which promise to equip young offenders with the skills to live successful, crime-free lives.

Reporter: Simon Cox

Photo Credit: Press Association

Northern Ireland has some of the highest rates in Europe of pollution linked to agricultural waste – the by-product of intensive pig, poultry and cattle farming. One solution is to turn the waste into energy through green recycling schemes that attract multi-million pound subsidies. But is the system being ‘gamed’ by industry?

An investigation by BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 programme has found that some waste-to-energy schemes are receiving public cash despite operating without planning approval. Their aim was to reduce harmful emissions and pollution, but there are mounting concerns that some schemes have exacerbated environmental harm. The energy regulator OFGEM is responsible for administering the waste-to-energy schemes. Are they doing enough to protect the public's money and has yet another green subsidy effectively back-fired?

Reporter: Lesley Curwen

When Miriam left the Hasidic Jewish community she had to say goodbye to her parents, siblings and children. The night she fled she knew she would be ostracised. But didn’t realise that six years on she would still be untangling herself from a series of complex financial arrangements which risk her going to prison. File on Four tells the story of this extraordinary woman which puts the financial affairs of one of the most guarded and insular religious communities under the spotlight. A judge has ruled Miriam acted under undue influence from religious and community leaders. How widespread are these practices? And why have they gone unchecked for so long?

NB This edition has been edited to eliminate any confusion between two people of the same name.

Presenter: Melanie Abbott

What happens when you’re 17 years old and you suddenly find yourself homeless?

As a child, you would expect that social services and other authorities would find you a warm and safe place to live.

What you wouldn’t expect is to be put somewhere on your own, in the cold, and at risk from serious harm.

File on 4 tells the shocking story of one teenager's experience when he found himself without a roof over his head.

His mum tells the programme he would contact her in the middle of the night, depressed and lonely; “He would text me saying I’m cold, I’m hungry”. She says the fight to get her son the care and support that he needed has left them broken.

We explore the impact on both his physical and mental health and ask why he was let down? Is his case one of a kind? Or are other local authorities failing in their duty to provide the right care and support for homeless young people?

Reporter: Emma Forde

Photo credit; Photofusion\Getty

It’s been called “the new narcotics”, a crime that promises high-rewards with little fear of being detected, and it is attracting criminal gangs usually associated with drugs and violence.

“Waste crime”; the illegal disposal of the UK’s mountains of often hazardous rubbish, and those involved are finding new and inventive ways of cashing in.

File on 4 investigates how gangs hide hundreds of tonnes of waste in fields and makeshift tips around the country, and goes out with enforcement officers as they raid factories and depots around the country. The crime costs the UK an estimated 600 million pounds a year, as it’s escalated from opportunist fly-tipping to a dangerous and competitive criminal industry.

One farmer tells the programme how he was confronted by hooded men when he went to investigate suspicious activity on his land. The gang dumped 100 tonnes of waste before switching their lorry number plates and driving off. Three days later, a nearby farm was also hit, with another 100 tonnes, and again the gang escaped.

Others use their own premises to hide hazardous waste. They set up a legitimate operation, with licenses to process harmless rubbish. But that’s just a front, a technique to trick to investigators from the Environment Agency. Behind the legal piles of rubbish are hundreds of tonnes of hazardous material.

The authorities are trying to fight back. But do they have the resources they need?

Reporter: Paul Kenyon

Five years ago the UK’s biggest bioethanol plant opened in Hull as part of a £1 billion investment in renewable biofuel. Last month, the Vivergo site ceased production with the loss of more than 100 jobs. The knock-on effects have been felt by hauliers and some 900 farms across the region, which supplied the plant with wheat to be converted into fuel.

The closure comes just 5 months after ministers set new, ambitious targets to double the use of sustainable fuels - like bioethanol - by 2020.

The government says it's committed to green energy - its recent ‘Clean Growth Strategy’ claims plans are in place to cut greenhouse gases by more than half of 1990 levels by 2030. And yet, research shows investment in green energy fell 56% last year, the biggest drop of any country - with policy change, subsidy cuts and 'stop-start' support from ministers being blamed.

So, do Britain’s plans for a greener future add up? File on 4 takes to the road to find out. On a trip around the North East of England, Simon Cox asks why, when the offshore wind industry has grown, other cheap, renewable energies like onshore wind, solar power and now biofuels are struggling to survive. He examines whether changes in policy are hitting crucial investment, and if ambitious climate targets will really be met.

Reporter: Simon Cox

Photo: Thanet wind farm. Credit: Reuters.

For many NHS patients, being referred for private treatment can sound quite appealing; you'll often be seen and treated quickly, with a more luxurious menu option to peruse in the comfort of your private room.

But when it comes to the medical treatment, are patients getting the same level of care? Are private patients just as safe as those in the NHS? And when things do go wrong, how willing is the private sector to admit to mistakes?

In this programme we hear from families whose loved ones died following surgery in a private hospital that was paid for by the NHS. The deaths reveal how some private hospitals have no emergency cover for when things go wrong.

To secure a contract with the NHS, private providers must deliver services to an equal standard of care. In this episode, File on 4 asks whether the NHS can be sure its patients are safe in private hospitals.

Photo credit - Getty Creative Images.

Reporter: Alistair Jackson