Dispatches
Season 2016
TV-PG
Dispatches is the British TV current affairs documentary series on Channel 4, first transmitted in 1987. The programme covers issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment, and often features a mole inside organisations under journalistic investigation.
Where to Watch Season 2016
28 Episodes
- Where's My Missing Mail?E1
Where's My Missing Mail?The way we shop has changed and we increasingly rely on parcel firms to deliver our shopping to our front door. But as the number of items delivered has risen, so have complaints. It's a low margins, high volume business, where missing items, broken gifts and late deliveries are often complained about. Dispatches goes undercover to investigate. - How the Rich Avoid TaxE2
How the Rich Avoid TaxIn this Dispatches Special, actor Greg Wise takes the extraordinary step of secretly recording his own meetings with 'tax planners'. Using his privileged status as a high net-worth individual, Greg goes into the world of high-end tax avoidance and meets 'advisors' keen to help the rich and famous minimise their tax liabilities or even avoid tax altogether. While tax avoidance is legal, he is told that the amount of tax he chooses to pay is down to his own 'moral barometer', with one advisor offering to 'zero his tax bill'. The tax dodging schemes promoted to Greg involve setting up companies in offshore tax havens and ramping up investment to maximise government tax relief. Last year, angered by reports of rich individuals not paying their 'fair share' of tax, Greg threatened to withhold his own tax payments until something was done. In this programme he uncovers a normally hidden world of tax avoidance, available only to the rich. - Housing Benefit MillionairesE7
Housing Benefit MillionairesThis episode explores the housing crisis and homelessness, and how it is on the rise in Britain. The episode will reveal the numbers and scale of rogue landlords, confronting those exploiting the benefit system to make millions from supplying poor accomdatation. - Britain's Pensioner Care ScandalE9
Britain's Pensioner Care ScandalMissed visits, not being washed or dressed for days, waiting hours for your dinner and mistakes made with medication. Many older people in this country are facing serious problems with their home care. For Dispatches, Jackie Long investigates the fate of some of Britain's most vulnerable pensioners, who rely on council-funded home care. Working as a frontline carer, an undercover reporter discovers an overstretched service, concerns about pay not meeting the minimum wage and workers cutting short appointments and falsifying log books. Dispatches sets up hidden cameras in one pensioner's home to find out more about the standard of care she receives. The introduction of the living wage means care costs could soar, at the same time as care budgets have been slashed. The industry body, representing care companies, now warns that the market is increasingly unviable. - The Great Benefits RowE10
The Great Benefits RowThe row over cuts to welfare benefits has rocked the Government to its core. Iain Duncan Smith resigned, attacking his own department's plans to cut disability benefits as balancing the books on the back of the poor and vulnerable. George Osborne has backed down; the cuts have now been put on ice. But the new benefit that prompted the row - Personal Independence Payment - is still going ahead. Hundreds of thousands of disabled people are now having to apply for this new benefit and many claim it is deeply unfair. Former Paralympian Ade Adepitan investigates and, using secretly recorded material, reveals some disturbing sides to the new benefit. - Isis and the Missing TreasuresE11
Isis and the Missing TreasuresAs the war against Isis intensifies and Syrian troops retake Palmyra, here in the UK the battle to stop the terrorist group cashing in on looted antiquities is being waged on the streets of the capital and beyond. Dispatches investigates how easy it is for terrorists to exploit this trade. Investigative journalist Simon Cox has been tracking the antiquities business in Britain for the last eight months. Together with a group of leading archaeologists, Cox has gone undercover to investigate this lucrative business and test the rules designed to regulate it. He finds a world of dubious provenance and questionable deals in the heart of London and on the Internet. He also looks at what Isis is doing to World Heritage Sites in territory it holds. How much are the two be linked? Cox examines how much of what is looted might be being sold in the UK, and what the authorities are doing to stop it. - The Truth About Cheap FlightsE12
The Truth About Cheap FlightsIt's that time of year, when dreams of a summer escape will soon be just an air ticket away, if only you can find the best price. Dispatches goes undercover to learn the secrets of a major player in the travel trade. Are the lowest fares all that they seem? Are you getting the best deal? And if your plans need to change, how will you be treated? Harry Wallop uses secret camera footage to test the promises of the travel business. - Undercover: Inside Britain's Children's ServicesE13
Undercover: Inside Britain's Children's ServicesA Dispatches investigation into Birmingham City Council's Children's Services, which in 2013 was described by Ofsted's Chief Inspector as a national disgrace and has faced 27 serious case reviews over the last 10 years. The programme sent an experienced social worker into the department, where she found a troubling picture of chaos, low staff morale and confused decision-making on how to handle serious cases where children could be at risk. - Are You Owed a Pay Rise?E14
Are You Owed a Pay Rise?Dispatches investigates the reality of the impact of the new National Living Wage (NLW) on low-income employees – revealing that some of Britain’s biggest companies, including Tesco and B&Q, are cutting perks and privileges for the low-paid at the same as introducing the National Living Wage. And the programme asks how low wages and job insecurity affected the EU referendum result. - The Great Housing ScandalE20
The Great Housing ScandalHarry Wallop investigates the failure to build enough affordable homes in the UK, finding out what happened to a much-heralded government plan to sell off enough public land to build 100,000 new homes. He learns of deals done with big developers at a potential loss to the taxpayer and discovers large areas of sold-off land sitting empty, while millions of people can't find an affordable home to buy. - Britain's Wealth GapE23
Britain's Wealth GapCan't afford a house? Haven't got a pension? Don't expect a pay rise? If so, you're probably part of Britain's younger, struggling generations. The wealth gap between young and old has become a defining feature of our times; in this special Dispatches, Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson investigates just how divided our country has become. Nelson reveals new figures showing the extent of the gap and investigates its causes. He speaks to leading politicians and hears fears from the top of Government that older voters have effectively been kept sweet at the expense of the young. - The World According to President TrumpE28
The World According to President TrumpWhat will a President Trump really do? Will he really ban all Muslims? Build a wall? Pal up to Putin? Smash Isis? How scared should we be? Will he back down from his campaign pledges? In this special film, Matt Frei speaks to those who know and attempts to get to the bottom of Trump’s policies and future agenda as President of the United States.