:00:12. > :00:16.Some of the North's MPs have been describing events
:00:17. > :00:22.at Westminster following today's terror attack.
:00:23. > :00:24.A police officer was among five people who were killed,
:00:25. > :00:28.The Houses of Parliament were put into lockdown following the attack
:00:29. > :00:31.and MPs who were kept inside have been talking to the BBC
:00:32. > :00:43.On my way around a building I have come across the view
:00:44. > :00:44.from some stairs looking down across Westminster Bridge
:00:45. > :00:48.where there is quite obviously ambulance staff and police officers.
:00:49. > :00:51.As I was moving from one part of the building to another,
:00:52. > :00:54.I heard lots of shouting, and I gather that there
:00:55. > :01:01.were armed police officers within the confines of the building,
:01:02. > :01:04.running around, but I really can't tell you much that
:01:05. > :01:10.I've witnessed myself, other than looking across
:01:11. > :01:12.Westminster Bridge from just down one of the stairwells,
:01:13. > :01:14.were there was, quite obviously, police and
:01:15. > :01:25.We were in a meeting room, Liberal Democrat peers.
:01:26. > :01:27.We could hear shouting going on outside, which was obviously
:01:28. > :01:29.police officers shouting instructions to each other.
:01:30. > :01:38.At that point the House of Commons sitting was suspended.
:01:39. > :01:41.My thoughts turn to the people who have been killed or injured
:01:42. > :01:45.Obviously we worry that somebody in all of this has been injured
:01:46. > :01:48.but I am reasonably confident that we have good procedures
:01:49. > :01:55.in operation to keep ours as safe as possible.
:01:56. > :01:58.We have been marshalled around various parts of the building,
:01:59. > :02:00.as they have been clearing the building and searching
:02:01. > :02:15.The group I'm with has just left Westminster Hall and we have
:02:16. > :02:17.crossed Westminster, which is completely eery
:02:18. > :02:20.and scarily empty and we are now being taken into Westminster Abbey,
:02:21. > :02:21.where everybody was individually processed.
:02:22. > :02:24.And given that that is 3000 staff, 1000 lords, 650 MPs,
:02:25. > :02:33.I kind of think we are probably going to be here most of the night.
:02:34. > :02:40.We were on our way. And I heard a shot.
:02:41. > :02:50.I think that was particularly the moment when you realise that
:02:51. > :02:52.that there was a sea of people streaming towards the chamber
:02:53. > :02:55.to vote and then they all start streaming back again.
:02:56. > :02:57.A terrible incident, and happening in what must be one
:02:58. > :02:59.of the most secure locations in the country.
:03:00. > :03:02.Yes, I mean, you walk around Parliament, and you see smiling,
:03:03. > :03:03.very reassuring characters, officers in uniform.
:03:04. > :03:06.I think the obvious thing to say is that the police have
:03:07. > :03:17.done a stunning job, the way they reacted so swiftly.
:03:18. > :03:20.They are so impressive and so brave, unbelievably brave and the officer
:03:21. > :03:22.who has been attacked is the ultimate example
:03:23. > :03:26.Charities in some of the poorest parts of our region
:03:27. > :03:28.are facing a struggle to survive because their public funding
:03:29. > :03:31.That's the finding of research from Durham University
:03:32. > :03:39.which analysed the financial health of more than 3,000 voluntary bodies.
:03:40. > :03:40.Our political correspondent Luke Walton reports.
:03:41. > :03:44.Prince William at Centrepoint in Sunderland in 2013.
:03:45. > :03:46.The charity helps homeless young people.
:03:47. > :03:49.But four years on, it faces the closure of hostels
:03:50. > :03:53.like this one, after it lost local authority funding.
:03:54. > :03:55.The city council has to make big savings,
:03:56. > :04:00.and says it's setting up a new service for the homeless.
:04:01. > :04:03.But the plight of this good cause reflects a wider problem.
:04:04. > :04:07.Durham University studied thousands of charities across the north.
:04:08. > :04:09.It found those in the poorest 20% of neighbourhoods were twice
:04:10. > :04:16.as likely to be financially weak than those in the richest.
:04:17. > :04:18.Three out of ten medium-sized charities in poor areas reported
:04:19. > :04:25.The main reason for that is that they are reliant upon money
:04:26. > :04:29.from either from national government, government departments,
:04:30. > :04:32.or from local authorities or health authorities locally.
:04:33. > :04:35.They are reliant on those, quite often the bigger charities
:04:36. > :04:36.in particular, for contracts in medium-sized
:04:37. > :04:42.This furniture project in Gateshead distributes donated items
:04:43. > :04:51.It still gets a council grant but says rising demand
:04:52. > :04:58.We have more and more people coming into us,
:04:59. > :05:01.people who, a few years ago, probably would never have thought
:05:02. > :05:04.of having to come to a furniture project to furnish their homes.
:05:05. > :05:06.Some of these families are families who are working.
:05:07. > :05:08.The charity has started a separate online business
:05:09. > :05:13.I think lots of charities now are looking at ways
:05:14. > :05:22.You have to look to subsidise what you get in core grant funding.
:05:23. > :05:25.Fundraising may be part of the solution, but many charities
:05:26. > :05:29.have only limited opportunity to generate income.
:05:30. > :05:31.This organisation encourages charitable giving,
:05:32. > :05:34.linking supporters with worthy causes.
:05:35. > :05:37.But it says more can be done to get help where it's needed.
:05:38. > :05:41.Some of these organisations in less well-off parts of the community
:05:42. > :05:46.are perhaps a bit shyer about going to some of the big
:05:47. > :05:49.national funders and that is where an organisation like ourselves,
:05:50. > :05:52.which has great, strong connections to grassroots organisations
:05:53. > :05:56.can perhaps help to build some of those connections.
:05:57. > :05:59.Their help and their handiwork is vital to some of
:06:00. > :06:04.But charities will need more of our backing too
:06:05. > :06:15.The Former Prime Minister David Cameron stood by the side of the A1
:06:16. > :06:18.and announced the road WOULD be dualled.
:06:19. > :06:21.But tonight there are new questions over the scheme.
:06:22. > :06:23.A Government report says 16 road projects announced in 2014
:06:24. > :06:26.should be scrapped or scaled back.
:06:27. > :06:28.But officials won't say if the A1 upgrade
:06:29. > :06:39.Our News Correspondent, Mark Denten, reports.
:06:40. > :06:42.Plans to dual the A1 were launched in a blaze
:06:43. > :06:45.The then Prime Minister David Cameron came to Northumberland
:06:46. > :06:51.He said it would boost the local economy.
:06:52. > :06:55.There was a start date of 2020 and, since then there have been numerous
:06:56. > :06:57.reassurances from ministers that this is a scheme
:06:58. > :07:02.It is fair to say that, in the community, there
:07:03. > :07:05.was an element of, "We will believe it when we see it".
:07:06. > :07:13.And I put a question to David Cameron along those lines.
:07:14. > :07:17.There is no way this can be stopped or cancelled?
:07:18. > :07:20.I think it would be very difficult for anyone to stop this.
:07:21. > :07:23.The green light has been given. The money has been made available.
:07:24. > :07:27.They are there for many years to come, and woe betide any
:07:28. > :07:29.politician that tried to stop the great green light
:07:30. > :07:35.Well, today, the government spending watchdog, the National Audit Office,
:07:36. > :07:39.has said that 16 road traffic schemes that were launched in 2014
:07:40. > :07:44.are not value for money and they should be reviewed,
:07:45. > :07:49.We don't know which are these 16 schemes.
:07:50. > :07:52.They won't confirm it, the Department for Transport,
:07:53. > :07:55.the National Audit Office or indeed Highways England.
:07:56. > :08:01.The Department for Transport has issued a statement today.
:08:02. > :08:03.They say that they are reviewing these schemes to get best value
:08:04. > :08:06.for money and that could, in some cases, mean that schemes
:08:07. > :08:09.are amended or in other cases that their implementation is delayed.
:08:10. > :08:13.In reality we won't get more detail until June.
:08:14. > :08:15.That is when Highways England will announce
:08:16. > :08:18.Decades of uncertainty over the dualling of this road,
:08:19. > :08:31.Mark Denten, BBC Look North, over the A1 at Feltham in Northumberland.
:08:32. > :08:33.The owners of a North Yorkshire care home -
:08:34. > :08:36.where an elderly resident died after jumping from a second floor
:08:37. > :08:41.window - have said there were no previous signs she was vulnerable.
:08:42. > :08:44.Dora Strickland, who was 90, jumped from the window at Red Lodge
:08:45. > :08:49.At York Crown Court today the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust
:08:50. > :08:52.said assessments by a doctor gave no indication Mrs Strickland
:08:53. > :08:54.was suicidal and there was no evidence to change her care.
:08:55. > :08:58.Councillors have decided to refer plans to change maternity services
:08:59. > :08:59.in west Cumbria to the Health Secretary.
:09:00. > :09:02.Earlier this month it was announced that plans to downgrade
:09:03. > :09:05.the consultant-led maternity unit at the West Cumberland Hospital
:09:06. > :09:07.in Whitehaven would be put on hold for a year
:09:08. > :09:14.Winter returned with a vengeance this morning,
:09:15. > :09:16.at least in some parts of the region.
:09:17. > :09:19.In Cumbria, County Durham and the North Pennines especially,
:09:20. > :09:21.roads were closed and journeys disrupted by some of the most
:09:22. > :09:29.Well, it's time for the weather now with Paul.
:09:30. > :09:36.It may be Spring but Winter hasn't gone too far?
:09:37. > :09:43.Yes, lots of that snow today turned back to rain. And over the course of
:09:44. > :09:47.the night it is rain that is more than likely to be the issue. Some
:09:48. > :09:51.snow over the tops of the hills but a wet night in most places so by the
:09:52. > :09:54.end of the night, standing water, puddles and spray will be the issue,
:09:55. > :10:00.especially across Northumberland where the rain hangs on the longest.
:10:01. > :10:02.Temperatures around four Celsis in that north-easterly breeze and it
:10:03. > :10:10.will feel colder than the numbers might suggest on the map. But the
:10:11. > :10:14.most promising of starts tomorrow. That Traynor Peter Grant quickly.
:10:15. > :10:17.The clouds over fabric by lunchtime. Essentially dry and sunny across the
:10:18. > :10:22.bulk of the region. That is how it stays during the afternoon.
:10:23. > :10:25.Temperatures in Carlisle up to about 12 Celsius. Cooler in the east where
:10:26. > :10:30.you are more exposed to that easterly breeze and it will feel
:10:31. > :10:33.that bit cooler, as well. High pressure building. And that high
:10:34. > :10:39.pressure will dominate the weather charts over the coming few days.
:10:40. > :10:44.Probably into next week, as well. That will quite the weather down.
:10:45. > :10:47.Friday, a dry, bright day with temperatures into double figures.
:10:48. > :10:53.Some sunshine for most of us and the wins fairly light. The B game,
:10:54. > :10:57.fairly similar, most places with plenty of sunshine on Saturday.
:10:58. > :10:58.Staying dry and bright on Sunday but cold enough through the night for
:10:59. > :11:01.touch of Frost. That is the decent day. Saturday could be a much
:11:02. > :11:02.better day, with some