Episode 5 Postcode Lottery

Did you know that where you live dictates what you get?

Even one side of the street can be completely different to another

because every part of our lives is affected by a line on a map

and a few letters and numbers.

Well, I'm here to get you a better deal

and to reveal what is really going on in the postcode lottery.

'And in today's programme,

'we reveal the startling story of the homecare postcode lottery.'

She said, "I don't think you fulfil the criteria for care any more

"and we're cutting it out."

'We lift the lid on the adoption postcode lottery.'

I'd actually contacted one of the authorities and was really put off.

'And caught in a trap.

'The real truth about the speed camera postcode lottery.'

Well, I have heard that sometimes speed cameras

are not actually plugged in.

It's a bluff, isn't it? People see it and think,

"There's a speed camera," and slow down.

And it's...it's not working at all.

Are you going to be a winner in the postcode lottery?

Well, I'm here to help you get the right number.

Hello. My Postcode Lottery team and I have been roaming the country

to find you the most ridiculous and inexplicable decisions

taken about our lives based purely on where we live.

And today we're going to be bringing you news stories from BH11, Poole in Dorset,

to LL15, Clocaenog in North Wales.

'But first, a postcode lottery story that drives us all to distraction.'

Speed cameras.

Probably the source of more heated argument and discussions

than football, religion and politics put together.

Love or hate them, but ignore them at your peril.

And in the postcode lottery of life, guess what?

I'm about to put fuel on the fire by telling you all is not fair

when it comes to cars and speeding.

We're off to Poole in Dorset

and the capital of Wales to see what a difference a place makes.

Speed cameras have been dividing public opinion ever since

they were first introduced onto our roads in 1992.

Whilst most of us see them as a necessary safety measure,

there are those of us who believe they are just a cheap and easy way to make money.

Pointing to the fact that they rake in a staggering £100 million a year.

But is it true that whether or not you're nicked by one of these

little flashers is a postcode lottery?

Well, the bare statistics seem to indicate that it is!

And by way of illustration,

let me tell you the story of two yellow boxes.

One in Poole in Dorset and the other in a busy suburb of Cardiff.

They are the hit and the miss of the speed camera world.

First, the hit.

Next time you're pootling around Poole in Dorset, beware,

because Poole is home to a speed camera

that's now a bit of a celebrity.

That's because it's one of the most lucrative cameras in the UK,

pulling in an unbelievable £1.3 million a year, all on its own.

That's almost four grand a day.

No wonder so many people describe this camera

on Holes Bay Road as a cash cow.

But do the locals give it the green light?

Speed cameras are a waste of time.

If people are going to speed, they're going to speed,

no matter what's there.

I see a speed camera coming up, I slow down.

As soon as I'm past it, I speed back up. Simple as that.

I think speed cameras save lives

and if people do something wrong, they should be punished for it.

As I'm a lorry driver, it's my livelihood.

I think they cause more problems than what they're worth.

Well, you may well think that. And I couldn't possibly comment.

So, let's head 130 miles west, under the national speed limit,

of course, to the capital of Wales.

In Cardiff, there's a camera that has become celebrated

for a very different reason.

It is, officially, the camera at the bottom of the ticket table.

This speed camera on Rhiwbina Hill was dubbed the most useless

speed camera in Britain by none other than the Daily Mail

after it was revealed

that only one person was nicked speeding through it

during the whole of last year.

But hold your horses a minute.

Surely the Daily Mail has got this the wrong way round?

If the whole point of a speed camera is to act as a deterrent

and stop drivers speeding, then, surely,

this humble little Cardiff camera has been doing an incredible job

and must be the most successful speed cam in the UK.

But don't just take my word for it,

let's ask the one fella undeterred enough to get nicked by it.

I drive that way every day.

And I suppose one day, not concentrating, and, yes,

I was doing 34, 35 and I got done there.

I am very unlucky, aren't I? But, you know, it's fair enough.

There's a speed limit there, it's there for a reason.

Wasn't concentrating, missed it and, yep, I got done.

So, it was a fair cop, guv,

and there's no postcode lottery when it comes to speed cameras.

You're either caught speeding, or you're not.

And it seems that far more people

speed in Poole than they do in Cardiff.

End of any so-called postcode lottery.

In fact, end of story, really.

Or is it?

Because the people of Cardiff have another theory

why the camera in Rhiwbina

only caught that one absent-minded speedster.

They reckon that most of the time it doesn't work.

I have heard that sometimes speed cameras are not actually plugged in.

Not in use.

So...maybe that should be looked into.

Could be not on and it's just a bluff, isn't it?

It could be that, you know, it's just there, people see it,

and think, "Oh, yes, there's a speed camera," and slow down.

And it's...it's not working at all.

'And it's not just Cardiff

'where the urban myth of the fake speed camera exists.

'But is there any mileage in this conspiracy theory?

'Well, actually, there is.

'And, what is more, it really IS a postcode lottery.

'Last year, the consumer group Which? asked all 43 police forces in England and Wales

'how many of their fixed speed cameras were operational at any given time.

'And the gobsmacking answer was...

'that less than half of all speed cameras are actually working.

'Just 44.7%, to be precise.

'The rest are either broken, out of film or simply switched off.

'But that catch-all figure hides the real postcode lottery

'that whether or not you get nicked by a speed camera

'really does have more to do with where you live than how you drive.

'Because these non-operational cameras

'are not spread equally across all the forces.

'So, if you're an unrepentant little boy racer hoping to dodge

'three points and a statutory 60 quid fine,

'then listen carefully now.

'You might want to avoid lead-footing it through

'West Mercia, Cumbria or Sussex because 100% of their speed cameras

'are fully operational, 100% of the time.

'Though you could consider chancing your arm around London,

'Leicestershire or Gwent,

'where there's a 50-50 chance

'of any camera you flash by flashing you back.

'But if you really want a home run in the speed cam postcode lottery,

'try any one of these three places -

'Derbyshire,

'where only 12% of their 117 speed cameras are ever operational,

'Thames Valley,

'where only 12% of their 238 cameras are fully functional,

'or Staffordshire,

'where only one in 10 of its 263 speed cameras is ever working.

'Finally, the Cardiff conspirators could well have been right,

'because although they wouldn't reveal which camera did and didn't work,

'South Wales Police admitted that only 40% of their 97 speed cameras

'were fully functioning flashers.

'So, if you find yourself gambling with the Rhiwbina Hill speed camera,

'you might strike it lucky.

'Just don't ask that guy who did get nicked for his lottery numbers.'

It's been called the epidemic of the 21st century.

And it's a disease that terrifies all of us.

Alzheimer's.

There are currently three quarters of a million people in the UK

suffering from dementia and that figure is set to double,

maybe even triple in the next 25 years.

'Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's is vital

'as there are a range of treatments that at the very least

'can help slow down the disease's progress.

'But we discovered that access to this vital early diagnosis

'varies frighteningly from health authority to health authority.

'And that an Alzheimer's sufferer's immediate

'and future treatment could be seriously affected

'just by their postcode.

'We're off to north-west England

'to tell you about this alarming postcode lottery.'

THEY SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY

'And a happy birthday it is to Heather Roberts.

'Bright and fun-loving at first sight, Heather, 57,

'is the last person you would think has been affected by Alzheimer's.

'But a few years ago, she started to notice some memory loss.'

'I was working as a teacher at the time at college,

'professional,

'very confident, used to going out on my own, sorting things,'

'out there and doing it.'

The crunch came one day

when I turned up at work expecting to give a lecture to a load of 18-year-olds,

only to find that I'd got the wrong time, the wrong day,

the wrong place, and everything else was wrong.

'And I couldn't understand it.

'And it was then when I started to pursue this a little bit further,'

because of course I've had family connections -

I've had a grandmother that was senile,

which we now know is dementia.

And my dad had vascular dementia.

Which is caused by a series of mini-strokes.

So I knew what I was looking at.

And as time went on, I became more convinced that this is why

I was struggling with numbers, I didn't know where I was,

I kept getting lost.

Memories would trick me and play me up.

And I was generally confused.

That wasn't me at all, I'm not normally like that.

Why has it suddenly started?

'At this point, Heather consulted her GP about her fears

'and was referred to a neurologist for assessment.

'It was the start of a long three-year battle

'to get a clear diagnosis for her condition,

'during which time Heather became a victim of the Alzheimer's diagnosis postcode lottery.

'In March last year, Tesco, the Alzheimer's Society

'and Alzheimer's Scotland produced Mapping The Dementia Gap,

'a report that highlighted the postcode lottery

'in the critical early diagnosis of dementia.

'Using established statistics and Government population estimates,

'the report disclosed that the highest performing health authority

'for diagnosis of dementia was Belfast

'where 69% of sufferers had a medical diagnosis

'for their condition.

'At the bottom of this postcode lottery was Dorset

'where only 26% of people believed to be suffering from dementia

'had been medically diagnosed

'and are therefore getting access to the treatments they require.

'Almost slap bang in the middle of this postcode lottery

'lay Heather's health authority.

'Whilst Heather and her husband Dave

'have requested we don't name their health authority,

'they are keen for us to tell the story of their own three-year battle

'to get Heather a clear diagnosis.'

'I went to see a neurologist'

and the neurologist was, well,

you know, a bit dismissive of it.

"Well, you know, it can't be dementia, you're far too young, and far too bright."

OK, well, what is it, if it isn't dementia, what is it?

"Well, I don't know."

They faffed backwards and forwards, and time went on.

He did start me off on some very extensive tests that were done

from the specialised Memory Department

but these tests can only be done once every 12 months

and you need three, apparently, to be able to show

any indication of what's wrong,

so, you know, I was looking at the long haul here.

'The postcode lottery that Heather unwittingly found herself trapped in

'revolved around the fact that there is no unified code of practice

'when it comes to diagnosing dementia in the UK.

'Every local health authority, every NHS surgery,

'every GP is left to their own devices.

'And whether or not they allocated the necessary funding and resources

'to achieve successful early diagnosis is entirely at their discretion.

'Heather was certainly a victim of this postcode lottery

'when she and her husband Dave

'were forced to wait three years for a diagnosis.'

'Our journey to diagnosis was...

'..long and arduous, is the best way to describe it.'

It IS a postcode lottery

because you're at the mercy of the attitude of individuals within the system, whether they will...

listen to you, whether they've had experience of people like you

before or not, and recognise what's in front of them.

'Time went on and I just didn't get any better.'

And my GP was very supportive, he was very good,

but the neurologist was really a waste of space.

Complete and utter waste of space.

And as for being able to see a psychogeriatrician,

you weren't allowed to see them. Which I thought was a bit odd.

Surely, if you're looking at the possibility of dementia,

you should see somebody who specialises in it.

No, you're not allowed to see them until you've got some sort of result.

'Not only was Heather denied access to a specialist psychogeriatrician,

'but throughout her struggle,

'she was wrongly being prescribed drugs for depression.'

'The neurologist kept saying,

'"Well, no, you're still far too young and far too bright,"

'and you know, "Have an antidepressant."

'No. "Well, try this antidepressant." No.'

I don't want antidepressants, I'm not depressed.

'"Oh, well try this one."

'He got really quite insistent and I think...

'I think we had seven in total and none of them did me any good,

'of course, they made me feel dreadful.'

Heather and Dave kept requesting an appointment

with a psychogeriatrician.

After three years, that persistence finally paid off.

'Eventually, I did get an appointment to see the psychogeriatrician.'

I did the third load of tests

and when I went back to see the psychogeriatrician,

it was like somebody had flipped a switch.

"Oh yes," he said, "there's a significant deterioration.

"I think it's probably Alzheimer's.

"Here's the drugs, we'll see you again in six months."

Heather's Alzheimer's diagnosis

didn't signal an end to her active life. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Now that she was on the correct medication,

her life was transformed.

Amazingly, within a couple of months, I'd started to pick up again

and I found that life was not quite normal,

but I can still play a game of tennis.

-Did you win the first point?

-Don't ask me.

I can't score any more because I'm just hopeless at it.

I lose the ability to be able to score,

so I let somebody else do that.

The diagnosis also took all of the uncertainty away from their lives.

Heather and Dave can plan clearly for the future

and can now enjoy the present.

With me and my husband, we've changed our lives around completely.

He's taken redundancy and early retirement

and we spend our days doing the things that are important to us.

That was the flats we visited where that old guy lived

and that was the kitchen.

I vaguely remember that.

We're trying to get some travelling while I'm still well enough,

see a bit of the world.

You have to think that I have been given a terminal diagnosis

but we just don't know when at the moment, so time is of essence.

Use the time now, use it properly.

But after three wasted years chasing a proper diagnosis,

are Heather and Dave bitter about the Alzheimer's postcode lottery?

I don't think we're bitter.

I think disappointed,

that a disease that's going to affect one in three people

in this country is so poorly recognised and so poorly dealt with.

I feel sad for those people who're trapped,

feeling afraid, confused about what's happening to them

and why nobody is taking any real notice.

Family, friends, professionals,

it must be a very, very lonely place for them to be.

You need to know, so if you've got a problem,

keep pursuing it, keep pushing.

Eventually somebody will give you some help somewhere.

Don't be afraid to ask.

Don't be afraid to tell them what your fears are,

because somebody should listen somewhere.

Every day this week, we've brought you a bite-size list

of postcode lottery fame and shame,

you know, winners and losers.

And our next short is just the ticket to drive you mad.

The parking meter has just celebrated its 75th anniversary,

but I don't think many people join the party for that one.

A recent survey revealed

an on-street parking prices postcode lottery in our big cities.

And here, in reverse order,

are the top five costliest cities to feed the meter.

At five, there's a tie between Manchester and Stoke.

Both of them charging £2.20 per hour

for you to park on their city streets.

At three, it's Glasgow, where every hour will set you back £2.40.

At number two, it's Leeds,

where you'll be rinsed to the tune of £2.60 per hour.

But the runaway winner

and by far the most expensive place to park in the UK,

is the place where the streets could easily afford to be paved with gold.

Westminster, London,

where every hour will knock you back a whopping £4.40.

Quid's in.

Here's a personal question for you.

I'll try and keep it as clean as possible.

Have you ever been out in the town centre,

need a lav and can't find one?

Well you're not alone, because up and down the country,

is becoming increasingly difficult to spend a penny.

Finding a public convenience

is rarer than finding an honest politician in Parliament.

I am busting.

In the past 10 years, 40% of our public toilets have been closed

and there are now fewer functioning rest rooms in our towns and villages

than at any time since the Victorian era.

This has led to a cross-country postcode lottery of convenience inconvenience.

For instance, in Edinburgh, 50% of public toilets are being shut.

In Manchester city centre,

where once there were 18 glistening public loos, now there is just one.

And in Shrewsbury, every single public loo has gone down the pan.

These councils are just taking the urinals.

Well, the fightback against the system has already started

and we're travelling to Llansannan in North Wales

to learn a sanitary lesson for us all.

MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGS

The beautiful North Wales village of Llansannan.

It's got a lovely pub, a quaint village post office

and an ancient and historic church.

It used to have a public convenience as well,

but that became a victim of the postcode lottery and vandals.

These toilets at one stage were the most vandalised toilets

in the whole of the County of Conwy.

It was costing the local authority a lot of money to tidy them up

and put washbasins back on the wall and stuff like that.

And in these penny-pinching times,

the local council were faced with a tough decision.

Could they still afford to splash out

on the upkeep of Llansannan's public convenience?

The running costs for public toilets

is absolutely enormous

and for Llansannan,

the rates and the running costs

would be many, many thousands.

We quickly found out, as councillors,

that the funding was not available and we had to look at the reality

of the situation and the reality was closures.

The consequences for the villagers young and old

were immediate and severe.

In the church especially, we have visiting vicars who are retired.

It was a terrible thing when they wanted to run to the toilet

and they had to go behind the church.

It is a huge problem for all kinds of people.

Tourists, visitors, workers, whatever.

But the inconvenienced folk of Llansannan

weren't going to take the loss of them loo sitting down.

They formed a crack toilet brigade of volunteers

who banded together to resurrect their local lav.

Found many volunteers through lots of the work.

One man, a retired builder, he took over charge

of overseeing that the toilets were brought up to a standard.

What was encouraging was everybody was prepared to help.

Mr Jones did the painting and tiling inside.

We all pitched in, it was lots of hard work but it was worth it.

Jackie at the Red Lion is invaluable with the cleaning.

It's a dirty job but somebody had to do it.

And so, what was once a bashed up bog, is now a five-star convenience.

Almost a home from home.

A complete toilet makeover

and the locals are quite rightly flushed with their success.

Well, yes we are quite proud, really.

Not that we stand in front every day and beam at people passing by.

We've had someone leave a note in the ladies toilet,

"What beautiful toilets, thank you," and signed.

And once again, loyal customers are also pouring back in.

I was in dire need and I came to visit the toilets

and it's a pleasure to use them, I have to say.

It makes our lives a lot more comfortable and pleasant.

I use them quite regularly and it is nice to go in.

Lovely, aren't they? Really lovely.

The local council are also mightily relieved

that the toilet is now open again.

It is being used by youngsters, people a little bit older,

people who are coming into Llansannan and people who live in Llansannan.

This is a massive success

and it's very much the first of its type in Conwy.

And a final grave warning to anyone foolish enough

to think of coming to the village

with any unclean thoughts towards the toilet.

Should any be so stupid as to put any graffiti on there,

I think they would be hanged in public in this square in Llansannan.

Anyone passing through

desiring to use the convenience for the right purpose

will be welcomed with open arms and an open public toilets.

If your local public convenience looks like it's going down the pan,

why don't you take a leaf out of Llansannan loo roll

and contact your local council,

because you too might be flushed with success

if you can overturn the decision.

Trust me, I did not write these lines and I'm not happy.

Get my agent on the phone.

As a nation, one of the biggest challenges we face

is how to look after a growing ageing population

with care and dignity. It's the Government's policy

to let the elderly live in their own homes for as long as possible.

And it's the local authority's responsibility to make this happen

with a range of homecare services. But, as the story of Mick Crompton,

a 73-year-old disabled man living on his own reveals,

whether or not you get those homecare services

is a postcode lottery nightmare.

We're travelling to Sutton in Surrey to bring you Mick's story.

First thing you're aware of every morning when you get up is pain.

It's very hard to move.

It's osteoporosis and osteoarthritis,

and unfortunately it's centred round the hip joint.

People don't realise the impact, being disabled,

there's so many ramifications.

Even simple things what you take for granted, they're not there.

When people have things like this, they tend to think "Why me?"

I think the short answer to that is because we're here.

If we weren't here, we couldn't suffer on this earth, you know.

Mick's limited mobility and low income mean that even simple tasks

like washing his clothes are a major undertaking.

Basic living, keeping clean, shopping, eating

take up all of his time and energy.

But things weren't always so difficult for Mick.

Until the spring of 2010, Mick's local council, Sutton Borough,

provided him with homecare.

With his homecare needs classified as substantial,

Mick was given one and a half hours of home support each week.

It was all incremental, the care.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and you know, it was a routine.

The home help allowed Mick some quality of life, but his condition

was continuing to deteriorate, so he asked Sutton Borough council

to review his case to see if he might be able

to get a bit more help.

But, like a modern day Oliver Twist, when Mick asked for more,

he was in for a nasty surprise.

I shouldn't have said nothing.

She said, "I don't think you fulfil the criteria for care anymore,

"and we're cutting it out." And they gave me a fortnight.

So that was it. I was just cast adrift.

All of Mick's homecare was withdrawn by Sutton Borough Council,

but he's not alone in being a victim

of a national homecare postcode lottery.

In England, when assessing someone's homecare needs,

all councils use the Department for Health's guidelines.

There are four categories that qualify for help, from critical,

for those needing most support,

through to substantial, moderate and low. If a council assesses someone

as critical, they have to offer homecare.

But if someone is assessed as being substantial, moderate or low,

it is entirely up to that council what help they offer.

So, yes, you've guessed it.

It's led to a postcode lottery that sees only one council,

Sunderland, offering help in all four categories.

Every other council picks and chooses which category

they will support, or, in the case of Sutton,

they even make up new ones.

When Mick asked Sutton to review his case, they reassessed him as

low moderate, a category that not only doesn't qualify for home help

in Sutton, but doesn't appear to exist in any other English council.

Mick contacted Douglas Joy, a disability rights lawyer,

to help fight his case.

When Douglas looked into Mick's case, he decided the council's

actions merited the attention of the local government ombudsman.

The ombudsman asked the council to reconsider their decision.

Douglas also contacted the council,

and we asked him to visit Mick with an update.

-Michael, very nice to meet you, finally.

-Likewise, genuinely.

After such a long time.

Right.

So, from the tone of the ombudsman's letter to Sutton,

which I've seen, I think it's quite encouraging

because they've invited Sutton to change their actions

-and to actually support you.

-It's putting them on the spot.

Very much so, and they've actually invited them, they've said,

if you change your actions now and reinstate care,

we will stop investigating.

As well as revealing that the council had made up

that "low moderate" category into which Mick was reassigned,

Douglas made another discovery.

In correspondence from the local authority,

they have acknowledged that someone

conducted an assessment upon Mr Crompton

that wasn't appropriately qualified.

They have acknowledged that themselves.

Following that revelation, the Postcode Lottery team decided

to bring in Sandra Knox, an independent and fully qualified

social worker, to carry out another assessment of Mick's needs.

Mr Crompton, I'm Sandra Knox, I'm an independent social worker.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

I've been a social worker for 23 years.

-My God, so you've some experience then?

-Just a little bit, Mick.

What did you do before you retired?

Everything.

Been a miner, a soldier, I write poetry.

-I won't let you read it though.

-Why not?

-Bit risque, some of it.

OK, then, I won't read it.

What is your normal day? You get up in the morning...

how d'you manage to wash and dress and shave and do your hair?

I have a strip-wash in a bucket for basic hygiene.

I'm clean. No, I'm a very, you know, I'm a very clean animal, I am.

So then, you have your breakfast?

-I only eat one meal a day?

-Do you?

Cos I can't run it off me. Yeah, I'm not obsessed with food.

How many visitors do you get in a week?

Well, on an average week, I would say one visitor.

What we need to establish is you're not managing.

-No, I'm not.

-Right.

-You know, I'm not a whinger, Mandy,

and I'm not somebody who'll want to get something that I don't need.

I do everything by the book.

Because of his mobility and because of his illness,

he experiences a lot of pain.

I believe he does need some support. It'd be imperative to have

somebody to help him clean.

It would be imperative for him to have someone to help him

get fresh food in the house.

I think local authorities are looking at resources

rather than the duty of care.

And that can't be right.

It is a postcode lottery.

It means, wherever you live, you'll either get the best,

the worst or most mediocre service.

Social services have an agenda to cut money and councils,

every council's cash-strapped.

Um...so, people like me just have to get on the best way you can.

They just abandon you, that's it.

Not quite. Thanks to Douglas, Sandra and the Postcode Lottery team,

Sutton Borough Council have decided to overturn their decision

to withdraw homecare help for Mick.

And when we contacted Sutton Council,

they asked to read out a written statement.

Sutton Council is sorry that Mr Crompton has been

living in poor conditions, and we can't undo what has happened.

As soon as we learnt of the situation,

we meet every effort to visit and assess him.

Once Mr Crompton allowed us into his flat, things got better quickly.

Some very positive steps have been agreed with Mr Crompton

to improve the way he's living.

Those positive steps include reinstating Mick's home help,

offering him additional hours of support,

and clearing, cleaning, repairing, and refurbishing his flat.

Meanwhile, the council refute

that Mick's situation was caused by cuts.

The assessment that removed Mr Crompton's entitlement to social care services

had nothing to do with budget cuts.

We are all very pleased with the progress now being made,

and this means a lot to me.

Helping people like Mr Crompton is what makes my job worthwhile.

It's a real triumph for people power and common sense

in the fight against the postcode lotteries.

Time for another example from the postcode lottery list of fame and shame.

This time, it's the winners and losers in the funeral game.

As the old saying goes, nothing is certain but death and taxes.

But, whilst we all have to pay out to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs,

how many of us can actually afford to die?

Because, according to a recent survey of funeral homes across the UK,

the price we pay for our final farewell

is a right old postcode lottery.

Based on a quote for a standard funeral with cremation, and one limousine,

here's what you can expect to pay when you pop it according to your postcode.

In reverse order, the most expensive places in Britain

to shuffle off this mortal coil are...

At number three, Bournemouth.

Where an all-in funeral, cremation, and limousine by the seaside

will set you back £3,635.

At number two, it's Harrow, on the outskirts of London,

with charges totalling £3,814.

And in at number one, we're heading north of the border to Glasgow,

where a basic funeral can set you back £4,199.

An awful lot of wonga for a do you'll never get to enjoy yourself.

And the cheapest towns to pop it are, in reverse order...

At number three, Ipswich in East Anglia,

where your funeral, cremation, and limousine package

will send you off at a not unreasonable £2,104.

At number two, Stoke-on-Trent in the Potteries,

where they'll pot you and plot to you for just £2,029.

But at number one, and the cheapest place to get a funeral in the UK,

is the South Wales valleys town of Merthyr Tydfil,

where they'll see you off in style, for a very reasonable £1,959.

Now, isn't that just typical? The postcode lottery -

it will still get you even when you're gone.

Here's some figures that surprised and shocked me

when I first heard them.

In 2010, the number of children in care across the UK

rose by 9% to over 65,000.

Now, whilst the main preference is to put these kids back with their parents,

some will go into foster care, some will go into council care,

and others will be put up for permanent adoption.

But here is what shocked me even more,

in 2010, just 60 children under the age of one were adopted.

And that's because, when it comes to something as vitally important as a child's future,

there's a postcode lottery to mess it all up.

At the end of last year, the Government published a league table

showing adoption rates in authorities across England.

In the high achievers bracket,

Hartlepool managed to successfully place 95% of the children

put up for adoption in their authority within 12 months.

In the same time period, South Tyneside had a 96% success rate,

and top of the tree was York, which managed a perfect 100%.

At the other end of the scale, within 12 months,

Brent managed to place just 52% of their children.

Nottinghamshire placed 55%,

but at the very bottom of the pile,

Hackney placed just 43%.

So, why is there such a postcode lottery

when it comes to adoption rates?

According to the Government,

it is because local authorities are too slow, too bureaucratic,

and too politically correct.

We travel to Harrow to meet a couple who found themselves

caught in the adoption postcode lottery.

And to learn more about a possible solution to this postcode problem.

Harrow residents Jane and Clive

had tried for several years to start a family of their own,

before deciding to explore adoption.

But, like many would-be adopters,

they were put off at the first hurdle.

I thought about adopting,

and I had actually contacted one of the local authorities,

but I was really put off,

they almost made me think that unless I could take three children with severe difficulties,

learning difficulties, or disabilities,

that, actually, I should just go away.

So, it wasn't made to be a really viable option.

And then, actually, time went on, and we had our oldest son,

and then, you know, fostering seemed to be,

that came up as the next thing to do, really.

Having finally managed to start a family of their own,

Jane and Clive looked into fostering.

Unlike adoption, they found the criteria was much simpler,

and they have successfully fostered for five years,

before taking in a baby girl in 2005.

After a year, the authorities in Harrow

decided the baby girl should be adopted along with her brother,

who was with a foster family nearby.

With their experience as foster parents,

Jane and Clive thought themselves perfectly placed

to offer the girl and her brother a permanent, loving home.

But they soon found themselves facing the bureaucratic hurdles

of the adoption postcode lottery.

Over the summer in 2006,

we just came to realise that we actually needed to apply,

it would be the right thing to do.

So, we put a formal application in in July 2006 to adopt both of them.

Initially, the council weren't prepared to look at our application,

because we hadn't been assessed,

that would obviously delay the procedure for the children,

so they wanted to follow through those avenues they already had.

That was really hard for us, because, obviously,

it took us a long time to decide that we would do that.

Having reached a dead end,

Jane and Clive suddenly found their fate reversed,

when Harrow brought in Coram,

a children's charity with over 250 years of experience,

to help sort out their underperforming adoption department.

Coram immediately set about clearing a backlog of older children

awaiting adoption in Harrow.

Once this was cleared,

they then began to work with the babies that were coming into the care system.

And whilst the courts decided a baby's future,

Coram placed it with a foster family who could then go on to adopt it,

if the court didn't feel the child could return to its birth parents.

As a result of this new policy,

Jane and Clive's decision to adopt their foster child suddenly fitted the bill.

Harrow straightaway handed our assessment procedure over to Coram,

to do it from beginning to end, really.

And straightaway, they were just so efficient, brilliant,

they assigned a social worker to us.

She came to see us and came regularly for the next few months,

just helping with homework, and telling us what to do,

and guiding us through the procedure.

You know, really holding our hands, wasn't she?

Certainly, all the way through.

Actually, without that, if we'd have been left to our own devices,

-it probably wouldn't have gone very smoothly at all.

-Definitely not.

But she came to the panel with us, came to court with us.

-She did everything with us.

-She was brilliant.

Even after the adoption had gone through,

she was still there for the children,

she came to see us to see how they were settling in.

This kind of partnership could work across the whole country

to make it a quicker and fairer system for everybody.

And to give more happy endings to this particular children's story.

Crikey, hasn't it been a week of tears and triumphs?

But sadly, that's the end of this series of Postcode Lottery.

We know though, that we have only just scraped the surface

as far as postcode lottery scandals are concerned.

If there's one thing I think we've all learned from this series,

it's - don't let them get you down.

We can buck the bureaucrats, and beat the postcode lottery.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd