22/03/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Some of the North's MPs have been describing events

at Westminster following today's terror attack.

A police officer was among five people who were killed,

The Houses of Parliament were put into lockdown following the attack

and MPs who were kept inside have been talking to the BBC

On my way around a building I have come across the view

from some stairs looking down across Westminster Bridge

where there is quite obviously ambulance staff and police officers.

As I was moving from one part of the building to another,

I heard lots of shouting, and I gather that there

were armed police officers within the confines of the building,

running around, but I really can't tell you much that

I've witnessed myself, other than looking across

Westminster Bridge from just down one of the stairwells,

were there was, quite obviously, police and

We were in a meeting room, Liberal Democrat peers.

We could hear shouting going on outside, which was obviously

police officers shouting instructions to each other.

At that point the House of Commons sitting was suspended.

My thoughts turn to the people who have been killed or injured

Obviously we worry that somebody in all of this has been injured

but I am reasonably confident that we have good procedures

in operation to keep ours as safe as possible.

We have been marshalled around various parts of the building,

as they have been clearing the building and searching

The group I'm with has just left Westminster Hall and we have

crossed Westminster, which is completely eery

and scarily empty and we are now being taken into Westminster Abbey,

where everybody was individually processed.

And given that that is 3000 staff, 1000 lords, 650 MPs,

I kind of think we are probably going to be here most of the night.

We were on our way. And I heard a shot.

I think that was particularly the moment when you realise that

that there was a sea of people streaming towards the chamber

to vote and then they all start streaming back again.

A terrible incident, and happening in what must be one

of the most secure locations in the country.

Yes, I mean, you walk around Parliament, and you see smiling,

very reassuring characters, officers in uniform.

I think the obvious thing to say is that the police have

done a stunning job, the way they reacted so swiftly.

They are so impressive and so brave, unbelievably brave and the officer

who has been attacked is the ultimate example

Charities in some of the poorest parts of our region

are facing a struggle to survive because their public funding

That's the finding of research from Durham University

which analysed the financial health of more than 3,000 voluntary bodies.

Our political correspondent Luke Walton reports.

Prince William at Centrepoint in Sunderland in 2013.

The charity helps homeless young people.

But four years on, it faces the closure of hostels

like this one, after it lost local authority funding.

The city council has to make big savings,

and says it's setting up a new service for the homeless.

But the plight of this good cause reflects a wider problem.

Durham University studied thousands of charities across the north.

It found those in the poorest 20% of neighbourhoods were twice

as likely to be financially weak than those in the richest.

Three out of ten medium-sized charities in poor areas reported

The main reason for that is that they are reliant upon money

from either from national government, government departments,

or from local authorities or health authorities locally.

They are reliant on those, quite often the bigger charities

in particular, for contracts in medium-sized

This furniture project in Gateshead distributes donated items

It still gets a council grant but says rising demand

We have more and more people coming into us,

people who, a few years ago, probably would never have thought

of having to come to a furniture project to furnish their homes.

Some of these families are families who are working.

The charity has started a separate online business

I think lots of charities now are looking at ways

You have to look to subsidise what you get in core grant funding.

Fundraising may be part of the solution, but many charities

have only limited opportunity to generate income.

This organisation encourages charitable giving,

linking supporters with worthy causes.

But it says more can be done to get help where it's needed.

Some of these organisations in less well-off parts of the community

are perhaps a bit shyer about going to some of the big

national funders and that is where an organisation like ourselves,

which has great, strong connections to grassroots organisations

can perhaps help to build some of those connections.

Their help and their handiwork is vital to some of

But charities will need more of our backing too

The Former Prime Minister David Cameron stood by the side of the A1

and announced the road WOULD be dualled.

But tonight there are new questions over the scheme.

A Government report says 16 road projects announced in 2014

should be scrapped or scaled back.

But officials won't say if the A1 upgrade

Our News Correspondent, Mark Denten, reports.

Plans to dual the A1 were launched in a blaze

The then Prime Minister David Cameron came to Northumberland

He said it would boost the local economy.

There was a start date of 2020 and, since then there have been numerous

reassurances from ministers that this is a scheme

It is fair to say that, in the community, there

was an element of, "We will believe it when we see it".

And I put a question to David Cameron along those lines.

There is no way this can be stopped or cancelled?

I think it would be very difficult for anyone to stop this.

The green light has been given. The money has been made available.

They are there for many years to come, and woe betide any

politician that tried to stop the great green light

Well, today, the government spending watchdog, the National Audit Office,

has said that 16 road traffic schemes that were launched in 2014

are not value for money and they should be reviewed,

We don't know which are these 16 schemes.

They won't confirm it, the Department for Transport,

the National Audit Office or indeed Highways England.

The Department for Transport has issued a statement today.

They say that they are reviewing these schemes to get best value

for money and that could, in some cases, mean that schemes

are amended or in other cases that their implementation is delayed.

In reality we won't get more detail until June.

That is when Highways England will announce

Decades of uncertainty over the dualling of this road,

Mark Denten, BBC Look North, over the A1 at Feltham in Northumberland.

The owners of a North Yorkshire care home -

where an elderly resident died after jumping from a second floor

window - have said there were no previous signs she was vulnerable.

Dora Strickland, who was 90, jumped from the window at Red Lodge

At York Crown Court today the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust

said assessments by a doctor gave no indication Mrs Strickland

was suicidal and there was no evidence to change her care.

Councillors have decided to refer plans to change maternity services

in west Cumbria to the Health Secretary.

Earlier this month it was announced that plans to downgrade

the consultant-led maternity unit at the West Cumberland Hospital

in Whitehaven would be put on hold for a year

Winter returned with a vengeance this morning,

at least in some parts of the region.

In Cumbria, County Durham and the North Pennines especially,

roads were closed and journeys disrupted by some of the most

Well, it's time for the weather now with Paul.

It may be Spring but Winter hasn't gone too far?

Yes, lots of that snow today turned back to rain. And over the course of

the night it is rain that is more than likely to be the issue. Some

snow over the tops of the hills but a wet night in most places so by the

end of the night, standing water, puddles and spray will be the issue,

especially across Northumberland where the rain hangs on the longest.

Temperatures around four Celsis in that north-easterly breeze and it

will feel colder than the numbers might suggest on the map. But the

most promising of starts tomorrow. That Traynor Peter Grant quickly.

The clouds over fabric by lunchtime. Essentially dry and sunny across the

bulk of the region. That is how it stays during the afternoon.

Temperatures in Carlisle up to about 12 Celsius. Cooler in the east where

you are more exposed to that easterly breeze and it will feel

that bit cooler, as well. High pressure building. And that high

pressure will dominate the weather charts over the coming few days.

Probably into next week, as well. That will quite the weather down.

Friday, a dry, bright day with temperatures into double figures.

Some sunshine for most of us and the wins fairly light. The B game,

fairly similar, most places with plenty of sunshine on Saturday.

Staying dry and bright on Sunday but cold enough through the night for

touch of Frost. That is the decent day. Saturday could be a much

better day, with some