5 Live Investigates

Fire safety experts have told 5 Live Investigates that many of the 1,700 buildings in England are 'likely to fail' a new round of tests into cladding and building materials. Hospitals, schools, nursing homes and tower blocks are among buildings which could be "at risk", BBC 5 Live Investigates has learned. The government said it will monitor the test results this summer to decide if any immediate action needs to be taken. Two years after the Grenfell Tower fire, 5 Live Investigates has also learned that some people living in flats which were declared safe in the aftermath of the tragedy, have now discovered the buildings they live in DO pose a fire risk. The fire at Grenfell spread over the building in a matter of minutes; largely because of the combustible cladding the tower block was covered with. This type of cladding has now been banned. Government fire safety tests on other types of cladding have just started. Photo credit; Press Association

Four years after the introduction of new laws to target revenge porn offenders, 5 Live Investigates can reveal how cases are on the rise but the number of prosecutions is falling. The revelations come as a charity set up to help victims called the Revenge Porn Helpline reports a 150 per cent increase in the number of calls to its service Photo credit: Antonio GuillemGetty

The Democratic Football Lads Alliance describes itself as an anti-extremist group of football supporters with a commitment to raising funds for the homeless and social justice campaigns. But critics say it’s a far right organisation which has an anti-Islamist agenda. Its marches and demonstrations have attracted rival groups of anti-fascists and have resulted in skirmishes. The Premier League says it has raised its concerns with the UK Football Policing Unit and the Home Office. There are also worries that closed DFLA Facebook groups are being used as a platform to promote anti-Muslim hatred and anti-migrant rhetoric and violence. Photo credit: Ollie MillingtonGetty

Calls for a cross party inquiry into claims that a growing number of families are being accused of inventing or causing their children’s illness. It’s called Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) and used to be known as Munchausen’s Syndrome By Proxy. It’s a rare form of abuse where parents exaggerate their child’s medical condition – or even cause it. Campaigners and charities say many families have been wrongly accused and want the inquiry to look at what they describe as a “wave of false allegations” and the current guidelines around FII. 5 Live Investigates first looked at this in March when we spoke to mums and dads threatened with having their children taken off them after being accused of FII. Following the programme, we have been contacted by other families who say this has happened to them. We’ve also been told about many other cases. One involves a mother accused of poisoning her two year old daughter and ordered to live apart from her for almost a year until the case was dismissed. Photo credit; Getty/Katarzyna Bialasiewicz

Abbie Bull is 22 and has had serious acne for three years. It got so bad she felt unable to leave the house for fear of being stared at. She developed depression and anxiety but when she went to her doctor for help, she didn’t get it. 5 Live Investigates has learned that thousands who suffer from serious skin conditions like acne, eczema and psoriasis, can’t access the psychological support they need because it either doesn’t exist where they live or they have to join long waiting lists. The programme surveyed 180 members of the British Association of Dermatologists dermatologists and asked them whether they had access to a dedicated psychodermatology service within the region they work. Three quarters of them said they didn't. NHS England say health authorities need to take into account the psychological needs of all patients. The Welsh Government say they expect health boards to put in place services tailored to the individual needs of patients and the Health and Social Care Board for Northern Ireland says it has just commissioned a psychodermatology service which will be available to all trusts in the country.

5 Live Investigates has seen figures which show a big rise in the number of rapes, sexual assaults and stalking cases involving victims who were targeted on online dating platforms and mobile apps. The programme has received figures from more than half of the police forces in England and Wales which show the number of crimes has more than doubled between 2015 and 2018. The programme hears from the mother of a woman who was murdered after meeting a man on a website called Plenty of Fish and a man who had his drinks spiked by a convicted sex offender he met on an app called Grindr. Forensic psychologist Dr Ruth Tully works with offenders who have targeted people via dating apps. She tells 5 Live Investigates the platforms provide ‘opportunity’ and if they didn’t exist, the crimes would never have happened. The Online Dating Association which represents some online dating sites and mobile apps says its members do all they can to protect people from harm. Picture credit: Leon NealGetty

5 Live Investigates has seen new evidence that hundreds of vulnerable children with Special Educational Needs are being injured whilst being restrained by teachers and classroom assistants. Physical and mechanical restraint techniques can be used against children as young as four without schools having to report it to anyone - even parents. But after 5 Live Investigates reported on this in 2017, the Government promised to introduce strict new guidelines detailing how restraint techniques should be used safely. Two years on and nothing has happened. Today the Children's Commissioners of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have asked the United Nations to investigate the use of restraint. Photo credit: crossstudioGetty

‘I try not to call him. I’ll wait for him to call because he tends not to call me when he’s drunk. He drinks most of the time - a bottle of vodka a day.’ Maria is 25, the daughter of an alcoholic and one of a growing number of young adults who has a parent who’s a problem drinker. The National Association for the Children of Alcoholics has told 5 Live Investigates that the number of grown-up children contacting them for help about a parent’s excessive drinking now makes up 80 per cent of their work - compared to half that five years ago. The charity says more and more parents are becoming problem drinkers in later life. But Liam Byrne MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children of Alcoholics, tells the programme that alcohol and drug treatment services have been cut all over the country.

The organ transplant service is at ‘breaking point’ according to one of the UK’s top consultant transplant surgeons. Professor Nizam Mamode who is president of the Chapter of Surgeons at the British Transplantation Society, has told 5 Live Investigates that overworked staff, a shortage of operating theatres and difficulties in recruiting are problems that need to be urgently addressed. His warning follows the announcement earlier this month that opt-out organ donation will become law from 2020. ‘Max and Keira’s Law’ – named after the donated heart of Keira Bell, nine, saved the life of Max Johnson, 10, in 2017 – will mean all adults’ organs can be taken after they die unless they specifically tell the NHS otherwise. The government says it could save as many as 700 lives a year

The victims of the most serious crimes who are having to wait longer than ever for the police to turn up. Figures obtained by 5 Live Investigates reveal some of the biggest police forces in the UK are taking almost twice as long to respond to so called ‘grade one’ emergencies as they were five years ago. The programme hears from the parents of a schizophrenic who made an emergency call to the police saying they feared for his girlfriend’s safety because he was attacking her. When police arrived three hours later Suzanne Brown was found dead from multiple stab wounds. 5 Live’s findings follow a spate of fatal knife attacks this year which have prompted Britain’s most senior police officer Cressida Dick to warn cuts in police numbers are contributing to a rise in violent crime. The Home Office says it ensures police have the resources they need to carry out their vital work.

The mums and dads threatened with having their disabled sons and daughters taken into care – accused of inventing or exaggerating their child’s illness. These are parents of children with conditions which are sometimes difficult to diagnose - such as autism spectrum disorder or rare inherited conditions. Some parents claim their council has used child protection concerns to delay paying for expensive care. They’ve been accused of a rare form of child abuse known as Fabricating or Induced Illness (FII) also known as Munchausen’s Syndrome by proxy where a parent or carer exaggerates or deliberately causes symptoms of illness in the child. Photo credit: Deborah Faulkner

Teenager Thomas Jones went missing on a night out with friends during his first week at university in Worcester. His body was recovered from the River Severn more than a week later. 5 Live Investigates has been told that Thomas's death and dozens more like it could have been prevented - if only certain safety measures were put in place. 150 young men have died after going missing on a night out over the last nine years. 5 Live Investigates has seen new research which reveals between 10 and 20 men die every year after going missing in towns and cities across the UK – the majority of them under the age of 35. Practical safety measures like late night transport to get people home, improved lighting and barriers between footpaths and waterways could all help prevent similar tragedies in the future, according to campaigners and charities.

5 Live Investigates has discovered three of the UK’s leading supermarkets are misleading customers by selling food which is high in salt or fat in the healthier choices sections of their stores. The British Dietetic Association says the supermarkets are being ‘unhelpful’ and the practise is ‘confusing’ for customers. Researchers visited the top five supermarkets in the UK and found Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco were all selling products high in salt and saturated fat in areas marked as containing healthy or healthier choices food. The Royal Society for Public Health says the findings raise the possibility of the introduction of a supermarket regulator. Tesco has told 5 Live it’s sorry some of its products were mistakenly included under a ‘Healthy and Diet Meals’ sign. Morrisons says their 'Healthier Choices' section gives customers the option to buy an item that is healthier than a product that meets a similar need – even though it might still carry a red traffic light label. And Sainsbury’s say it’s going to update its signage to reflect that vegetarian and plant based meals are now stocked alongside their range of healthier meals. Photo credit: Helen Clifton

Around 60,000 babies are born prematurely in the UK every year. Many can spend weeks or even months in hospital fighting for their lives. But limited maternity and paternity rights mean many parents are having to return to work much sooner than they would like. The charity Bliss which supports families of premature and sick infants has surveyed more than 700 parents and shared its data with 5 Live Investigates. It reveals two thirds of fathers had to return to work whilst their baby was on a neonatal unit and more than a quarter of them had to choose between taking time off when their baby was is in neonatal or when their child went home. The programme hears from parents like Gemma and Andy Reid who were forced to make some tough decisions when their baby Gabriel was born a year ago.

There are now more than half a million vegans in Britain – with more than a quarter of a million people trying out a vegan diet last month – double the number of people who signed up for ‘veganuary’ in 2018. There’s no doubt that veganism is a more humane and potentially more sustainable alternative to a traditional diet containing meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. But could going vegan actually be bad for your health? 5 Live Investigates hears concerns that for some, it could have serious health consequences. Rebecca Hills, 20, tells the programme she used a vegan diet to conceal her eating disorder. But for Rebecca Hills, 20, going vegan wasn’t about 'ethics' and 'healthy eating', like she told people. It was to cover up her eating disorder. “In the back of my mind I was thinking that veganism would be a really good way to lose weight,” she said. The charity Beat Eating Disorders believes Rebecca may not be alone: “Some people may use veganism or vegetarianism to conceal their eating disorder, as it becomes socially acceptable to follow a restrictive diet.” (Photo credit: REDA&COGetty)

Thousands of police officers and civilian staff haven't been vetted since the introduction of strict guidelines in 2006. 36 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales responded to a Freedom of Information request from 5 Live Investigates. But 16 of the forces that provided information said they hadn't performed retrospective background checks on a total of 5,966 police officers and staff since the policy was introduced. The programme has also discovered that the number of police officers investigated for abusing their 'power for sexual gains' has more than doubled over a 4 year period - from 84 in 2014/15 to 170 in 2017/18. The revelations follow the conviction in December 2018 of Cheshire PC Ian Naude who was sentenced to 25 years for raping a 13-year-old girl who he groomed after attending an incident at her home. PC Naude passed Cheshire Police's vetting process despite allegations of sex offences being investigated by two neighbouring forces prior to joining the force. (Photo credit:: Press Association.)

Alice Franklin is one of 300,000 people in the UK with Tourette’s Syndrome. For 25-year-old Alice, the condition manifests itself in uncontrollable body movements or ‘tics’ – jerking, twitching, punching walls and windows and involuntarily collapsing to the floor. The physical side of the condition is the hardest to deal with and exhausting she says. But she also swears and hurls impromptu insults at individuals she’s just met – including her new boss and customers in a bar where she worked. It’s a life-changing condition Alice has lived with for more than three years – but for her and thousands like her, therapy isn’t readily available. In fact, a survey shared exclusively with 5 Live Investigates by the charity Tourette’s Action shows even when a diagnosis has eventually been made, most aren’t given medication or directed to any form of behavioural therapy. And even when they are, it can take years to access. There are no NICE guidelines relating to the condition and Tourette’s Action says the condition is widely misunderstood by the medical profession. More than 460 people responded to the charity's survey and 79 per cent of respondents said their mental health had been affected by the condition. More than a third said they’d considered suicide of engaged in self-harming behaviour.

An investigation by BBC Radio 5 Live Investigates reveals problem gamblers are able to continue betting online even when they sign up to a national self-exclusion scheme. More than 50,000 people have signed up to the GamStop scheme which allows addicts to ban themselves from online betting platforms. But 5 Live Investigates recruits the son of a problem gambler to sign up to the scheme to test if it works. After banning himself, Adam Bradford, whose dad David lost more than £100,00 by gambling online, is able to sign up to a new gambling website by changing just a few small personal details. GamStop say they're 'deeply concerned' by the findings. The programme also returns to Grimsby where a year ago a producer self-excluded from all the high street bookies in the town. But he was able to place bets on high stakes fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT's) in all but two of the betting shops he was banned from. A year on, the programme returns to Grimsby to find out if anything has changed.

There has been a big increase in the number of vulnerable children being housed alone without live in support. In some cases youngsters have been placed in bed and breakfast accommodation, bedsits and even caravans by the local authorities that are meant to be looking after them. Figures obtained by 5 Live Investigates show the number of young people aged 16 and 17 and placed in what’s called ‘independent living accommodation’ has gone up by 28 per cent in England since 2010. Young care leavers tell the programme they’ve been placed in dwellings over-run by drug users, alcoholics and abusers. The Children’s Commissioner says she is now launching an investigation into the crisis. The Government says the law is clear and that local authorities must provide accommodation that meets children’s needs and that includes appropriate supervision whilst in that accommodation. Photo Credit: Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images

MP’s have told 5 live Investigates they want the roll-out of ‘all-lane running’ smart motorways to be suspended amid concerns over the safety of stranded motorists and the recovery workers who go to rescue them. All-lane running – or ALR – motorways are stretches of carriageway where the hard shoulder has been removed and converted into a running lane. That lane is only closed to traffic in the event of an incident. Highways England says ALR motorways are as safe as traditional motorways and they improve traffic flow. But there are many people who disagree. Ellie Montgomery and her family became stranded on a traditional motorway which didn’t have a hard shoulder because of road works. Their vehicle was hit by an HGV on the M6 in Cheshire and the family narrowly escaped serious injury. She sets out her concerns about taking away hard shoulders. Photo credit: Press Association.

Anna Boniface was selected to run for England after she became the first non-elite woman to finish the London Marathon in 2017. But over-training and under-eating meant her dreams were short-lived because she failed to finish the event after suffering a stress fracture to her ankle. She was later diagnosed with a condition known as Energy Deficiency in Sport - brought on by pushing her body to the limit and failing to refuel properly. The condition affects hundreds of young athletes and can lead to serious eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. It can also weaken bones, stop women athletes from having periods and dramatically reduce testosterone levels in men. As the TrainBrave campaign is launched to raise awareness of the condition, 5 Live Investigates hears from those suffering the consequences. They include a young cyclist left with the bones of an 80-year old, and an Olympic hopeful forced to give up athletics in her mid-20’s after four spinal fractures brought on by her diet. photo credit: kbschlee photography

The LGBT people trapped in abusive relationships because they say the police don’t take them seriously and they can’t access support services. 5 live Investigates has discovered the number of gay, bisexual and trans men and women involved in recorded domestic abuse crimes is going up. But experts say the figures represent only a fraction of the abuse in the LGBT community. One LGBT domestic abuse charity has told the programme it’s seeing more than double the number of victims it was seeing five years ago. But thousands don’t bother reporting because they think they’ll get a negative response from the police.

Nine out of 10 people who buy a new home report so-called 'snagging' issues according to a new survey seen by 5 live Investigates. The New Homes Review 2018 is an independent survey of 687 people who've bought new homes within the last year. Craig Wakeman and his partner Tracy Bickford bought their £325,000 three-bedroom dream home from developers Bovis in November 2016. The couple and their two daughters were eventually forced out of the property after 354 faults were discovered in a series of surveys. Two years since buying the house near Worcester, the family still aren't able to move back in. Mr Wakeman tells 5 live Investigates: "We're in a position where we own a house that we can't live in, that we can't sell, that's got that many faults in it you're always going to question whether of not the house is going to be right. We've asked Bovis homes to take the keys back and take the home off us but they've refused to do that." Bovis has apologised to the family and says the company is 'completely focussed on putting right what has gone wrong.'

Thousands of children with special educational needs are disappearing from education with ‘concerning’ consequences, Ofsted has told 5Live Investigates. Inspectors have admitted that when pupils are ‘off rolled’, they vanish from official records. ‘Off rolling’ is when schools put pressure on pupils to leave without permanently excluding them, in order to reach tough academic targets or save money. 5 Live investigates hears from the parents of children with conditions like autism who say their children are being forced out of schools and are having to be home schooled or taught in inadequate ‘alternative provision’ settings. Photo Credit; Boston Globe / Getty

The businesses that go bust – only to re-emerge under a different name with no debts. There are now calls for tighter regulations around so-called ‘phoenixing’ where companies rise from the ashes of collapsed businesses leaving employees and creditors with huge debts of their own. The practise also costs local authorities and HMRC billions. 5 Live Investigates hears the stories of those who’ve been left out of pocket and from those who want unscrupulous directors outlawed for good. Also, tool thefts from vans and the tradesmen who say their livelihoods are threatened but they can't get the police to take them seriously. Photo Credit = Paul EllisGetty

The men who sexually harass women by watching pornography on public transport and other public places. It's been described as a new form of sexual harassment and there have been calls this week for it to be made a criminal offence. 5 live Investigates hears from the women who've been subjected to this behaviour and asks why bus and train companies aren't doing more to block pornography being downloaded via their WiFi networks. The programme also reports on a big rise in the number of hit and runs on Britain’s roads. 5 live Investigates has obtained figures via Freedom of Information requests which show a three-fold increase in just five years. But whilst the number of drivers leaving the scene has shot up – the number facing the courts has fallen dramatically. The programme hears calls for tougher sentencing from those whose lives have been left devastated Photo Credit; Getty ImagesLeoPatrizi

Holly Smallman has a series of complex life-limiting conditions. Yet the 16-year-old is among thousands of babies, children and young people who are likely to die young but can't access the care and support they need, according to a report by the All-Parliamentary Group for Children Who Need Palliative Care. They say the Government is failing in its end of life care choice commitment to provide adequate support which represents ‘a wholly unjustified health inequality. Holly's mum Hayley tells 5 Live Investigates: “I’m beyond exhausted. We have to do critical care for Holly out-of-hours ourselves or take her to hospital. After 5pm and at the weekends it’s very frightening”

The online fundraising platforms designed to raise money for good causes – but targeted by fraudsters. Online giving has transformed the way we help the charities we care about - more than £2 billion is raised every year on websites and social media. But 5 live Investigates hears from some of the people who’ve fallen victim to scams including the family of a six year old girl who died from leukaemia. Fraudsters set up a fake fundraising page after her death. There are also calls for a cap on the commission charged by some fundraising platforms amid claims they are taking too much.

E-cigarettes and vaping liquids are being sold to children online and on the high street, 5 live Investigates has discovered. Trading Standards is investigating after researchers on the programme bought prohibited products online. A 16 year old girl was also able to buy vaping products from one in three shops in Camden, London. The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations of 2016 forbid the sale of e-cigarette nicotine products to under-18's. Studies have suggested that young people who vape are more likely to start smoking tobacco products. Photo by Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

Fraudsters scammed nearly 49000 older people in the UK last year - equivalent to six victims every hour of the day across the UK, 5 Live Investigates has discovered. The figure has almost doubled in three years, but one expert says the true number of victims was likely to be in the millions. 5 live Investigates asked Action Fraud, the UK police's cyber crime reporting centre, for a breakdown of the five most common types of frauds affecting older people. During 2017/18, advanced fee frauds, which include victims being told they have won the lottery but must pay a fee to receive it, were the most common scams with almost 20,000 cases - including 370 victims aged over 90. Computer software service fraud, in which victims are told their computer has been compromised by a virus, was the second most common crime. In one year alone, victims lost more than £135m in these type of scams.

Staff shortages in pathology labs mean patients are facing worrying delays in diagnosis and treatment, according to the Royal College of Pathologists (RCP). 5 live Investigates has been told just three per cent of histopathology departments across the UK have enough staff to meet clinical demand. The programme hears from patients who have faced an agonising wait for test results. The RCP says staff shortages are costing the NHS £27m every year.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Gambling Commission are investigating after 5 live Investigates revealed professional football clubs have included links to gambling websites on junior web pages. Programme researchers discovered 15 clubs in the Premier League, the Championship, League One and the Scottish Professional Football League were in breach of ASA guidelines. Some of the clubs involved have since removed the links. Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield described the findings as 'hugely surprising.' She has also called for education around gambling to made part of the national curriculum in schools. And the parents of Jack Ritchie, who started gambling as a schoolboy, reveal how their son killed himself after becoming addicted to online betting websites.

Whether you're buying a house or a hairdryer, the chances are you'll have looked at an online review site to work out what you're likely to get for your money. The government's Competition and Markets Authority estimates that every year £23 billion of UK consumer spending is influenced by online reviews. But can they all be trusted? 5 live Investigates reveals how easy it is to buy fake five star reviews on one of the world's biggest online platforms and how people are still being paid to leave fake reviews for products sold on Amazon - despite a crackdown by the company more than a year ago.

5Live Investigates examines the routine care people with dementia receive when in an acute hospital. Previously unseen research which was commissioned by the NHS's National Institute for Health Research paints a desperate picture of life on our hospital wards, including a "culture of restraint and containment" in response to resisting care, as well as staff burnout and dehumanisation of patients. The Department of Health says it aims to make England the best place in the world to live with dementia.

Senior fire officers are warning of potential safety risks as more and more people let out their houses to tourists through Airbnb and other short term letting websites. The National Fire Chiefs Council says fire and rescue services are not aware of how many short term rental properties are operating in their areas, making it hard for them to assess possible risks. It says some of these properties are being used in effect as small hotels, but if fire officers don't know where places are they can't inspect or give owners advice to ensure buildings are safe. MPs have called for all properties operating in this way to be registered. The Short Term Accommodation Association, the professional body for the short let sector, says it has adopted the safety standards of the residential long let industry. It says in instances where those standards are not being met it addresses them with urgency.

Thousands of victims of economic and physical abuse are unable to get emergency court orders preventing their abuser from causing them harm because they don't qualify for free legal aid. 5 live Investigates has been given figures by the National Centre for Domestic Violence which reveal that more than 6,000 victims referred to them by the police were unable to access free legal representation. Applicants are means tested and in many cases told they have to make a financial contribution to the legal bill. The NCDV says too many women are turned away because they appear to own assets or savings which are actually under their abuser's control.

The human cost of Britain's crumbling roads. 5 live Investigates hears from the victims and families of those who've been killed in accidents involving potholes. The programme has learned local authorities have had to pay-out £38 million pounds in compensation over the last five years - but that's significantly less than the £9 billion pounds some say it will cost to bring our roads up to scratch. Most of the compensation goes to motorists who've suffered damage to their vehicles. But the biggest pay-outs are reserved for cyclists - the most vulnerable road users of them all. Nearly £7m paid-out to them and their families in the last 5 years.

Charities could have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations after 750 clothing banks were removed from car parks. Recycling companies and charities which operates the banks says up to 20 a week have gone missing in the last 12 months. The Textile Recycling Association says some of the banks have been resprayed and branded with a different charity logo and placed at sites without permission. The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into one charity. There are around 15 thousand textile banks throughout the UK often placed at supermarket carparks and recycling sites. More than 300,000 tonnes of clothing and textiles are collected each year. Some of the banks are run by charities themselves such as The Salvation Army, Oxfam and the British Heart Foundation, but others are operated by private recycling companies who give a donation to their chosen charities - on average £250 for every tonne of clothes collected. Around £75m was given to charities and local authorities last year. The Textile Recycling Association (TRA) - which represents the sector - says clothing banks have been taken from across England - including the North West, the Midlands and Eastern England. It says charities receive on average £70 a week from each bank and because it can take between six to eight weeks to replace a bank, it is feared charities could have lost more than a third of a million pounds in donations. In some cases, the recycling companies aren't replacing the banks so the charities will lose out permanently.

It's estimated that 1.8 million disabled people are struggling to find accessible housing in the UK. 5 live Investigates has seen research which reveals the average wait in England could be more than 12 years -and that's if nobody else joins the waiting list. The programme hears from Paul Perry - a 26-year-old man who's been trapped in hospital for 18 months. And a man in his 50's with spinal injuries who says he's a prisoner in his own bedroom in an old people's home which isn't equipped to deal with his needs.

Scores of charity shop workers have been investigated for sexually inappropriate behaviour in the workplace in the last 12 months, according to figures obtained by 5 live Investigates. The programme has also learned that convicted paedophiles have been allowed to work in shops because DBS checks haven't been done. The CEO of the organisation Whistleblowers UK says the charity industry is a magnet for people who are predatory. 'The charities sector...is seen as a nice place to be -lots of people who work there are volunteers doing good work. It's almost as if regulation for them is deemed unnecessary because of course everybody who works there would be nice. And yet those are the areas that attract people who are predatory. All of the evidence supports this. We've heard about inappropriate relationships between members of staff, between staff and volunteers and also volunteers raising concerns about the way staff have interacted with vulnerable children and teenagers.'.

5 live Investigates is in the London borough of Newham - dubbed the acid attack capital of Britain. Shopkeepers there have signed up to a voluntary code of practise banning the sale of corrosive substances to under 21's - but are they as good as their word? The programme follows a 14-year-old as she attempts to buy corrosive liquids from stores in the area. Newham mayor Sir Robin Wales and local Labour MP Stephen Timms have called on the government to crackdown on sales. The programme also has new FOI figures which reveal a three-fold rise in attacks across England and Wales between 2013 and the end of 2017. Acid attack survivors Adele Bellis and Jabed Hussain also reveal the long term physical and emotional effects.

The shortfall of new affordable homes in England will soon be equivalent to a city the size of Leeds according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. They tell 5 live Investigates that supply has fallen short of demand by 30,000 every year since 2011 and the cumulative shortfall could reach 335,000 by the end of this parliament. The government says it's investing £9bn in the sector. Married parents of three Dawn and Adrian, from Milton Keynes, tell 5 live Investigates their family's health has suffered since being forced into temporary accommodation while they wait for suitable social housing to become available. "Both of us have had issues with mental health and ability to cope," said Dawn, who asked that their surnames not be published. "It's all come to a head, the culmination of that means Adrian's pretty much had a breakdown for the last couple of months and been signed off work," she said. Adrian, who like Dawn works full-time, said not being able to afford a home meant that "being a proud man, at the end of the day, I took a lot of stick to myself. I beat myself up inside. "Because when you've got a wife and three children, I felt a failure," he said.