08/11/2017 North West Tonight

will be bright with the few showers

close to the coast. George.

Good evening.

Welcome to NorthWest Tonight

with Roger Johnson and Annabel

Tiffin.

Our top story.

Homelessness in the region

surges by 24% in a year.

When charity says it is

embarrassing.

We are struggling to cope but it is

not the fault of the people of

Manchester.

100 new technology jobs are created

on Merseyside in a 40 million pound

investment at the country's largest

flu jab laboratory.

And happy birthday, Sir Ken.

Doddy turns 90.

There's been a dramatic rise

in the number of homeless people

across the North West according

to a new survey published today

by a national charity.

Shelter says recorded

homelessness has gone up by 24%.

After carrying out the most

extensive review of its kind

There are now 9350 people

in our region classed as homeless.

And there are ten hot spots

from South Ribble to the worst

hit place Manchester.

It includes individuals sleeping

on the streets, living in hostels,

as well as families with children

staying in emergency bed

and breakfast accommodation.

More than a third of

the region s homeless

are in Manchester Where one in every

154 of the population are homeless.

Salford, Rossendale,

Trafford and Rochdale

are also badly affected.

Stuart Flinders has been talking

to some of those who have nowhere

to call home.

Osman lives in a box.

It's cosy.

And safe.

But it is still a box.

And he has to share it.

It's not a big space persisted --

but is it comfortable?

Yes, it's comfortable.

Osman is a refugee from Sudan,

who found his way to this day centre

run by the Catholic Church

in Manchester's Moss Side.

We used to have people sleeping

outside the front door and staff

came to us one day and said we have

to do something about this. There

was a person from a building company

that offered to put a pod in and we

took advantage from it. He could see

the cranes up around the city

building accommodation but it is an

affordable to the sort of people

we're working with.

Why has there been an increase in

homelessness? Is it dente shortage

in housing, benefit cuts or crisis

and drink and drug abuse? The fact

is every case is different.

The key factors are lack of

affordable housing and benefits

changes.

Graciano turns up at a homeless

centre in Salford at

just the right time.

A donation of winter

coats has just arrived.

Originally from Angola,

he's a British citizen.

First he lost his flat

in a row over rent arrears,

then his job as a delivery driver.

I lost the delivery driver job

because I couldn't focus. I

collapsed at night and was taken by

ambulance to hospital.

He think your landlord treated you

unfairly. Do you think you are

responsible at all for your

situation?

I'm not responsible for my

situation. I'm not.

At least Osman has somewhere

to return to tonight.

For those who don't,

it will be a long winter.

Manchester has more homeless

people than anywhere

else in the North West.

Earlier I spoke to the City

Council's Deputy Leader -

Bernard Priest.

I asked him if that

was embarrassing.

It is

was embarrassing.

It is embarrassing

was embarrassing.

It is embarrassing but

was embarrassing.

It is embarrassing but I

was embarrassing.

It is embarrassing but I think

was embarrassing.

It is embarrassing but I think

you've got to understand why

Manchester has this problem. We are

in the middle of an economic policy

driven by the government that forces

people into poverty. But I'm not

embarrassed about is the response

that Manchester City Council and its

partners, its many partners, have

made to this problem.

It's obviously not working though,

is it? If you're the worst in the

North West, whatever you are doing,

as yet it doesn't seem to be

successful.

That is a logical conclusion but it

is based on an understanding that

people stay put. People move around

in the North West. Manchester is a

place where jobs are concentrated on

where the Council will support use

of people gravitate towards

Manchester. That is a good thing but

it also brings problems to

Manchester and doesn't distribute

them across the Northwest. We are

struggling, I have to admit that, to

with this but it is not of our

making or the Manchester people's

making.

Cranes are putting up expensive

flats for young professional people

all round Manchester. You have

control over planning permission

rules. Why don't you make developers

make that more available as a

affordable housing?

There are building sites all over

the rest of Manchester. We have

build more houses in recent years

than almost any other city in the

country. Of those, more than half of

them have been affordable housing.

How do you get the homeless people

into them then?

We do do that. We have given

priority to people who have fallen

out of the Road home to get back

settled into an accommodation.

Do you think you can tackle it and

when?

I think we can play for a draw. This

isn't going to be one until the

government understand they are

causing this problem.

100 new high tech jobs

are being created in Liverpool

with the announcement

of an expansion to a flu

vaccination firm in Speke.

Sequirus is one of the biggest firms

of its type in Europe

and the 40 million pound project

will also allow new vaccines to be

created more quickly.

It comes as the NHS is steeling

itself for the possibility

of a major outbreak this winter.

Our Health Correspondent

Gill Dummigan has been

taking a look around.

If you've had a flu jab this year,

there's a good chance it'll

have been made here.

This facility provides around half

of the vaccine used in the UK.

It grows the different viruses

in hens' eggs before combining them

into the final formula.

The process starts with

a surveillance programme

around the world co-ordinated

by the World Health Organisation.

The WHO monitor and twice a year

pack the most important strains.

At the moment the finished product

is taken to Italy to be packaged

in syringes and capsules.

The 40 million pound

plans officially launched

by Business Minister Greg Clark

today will create the ability to do

this on site, speeding up

the process and creating 100 jobs.

It will fit in nicely to the

burgeoning life sciences cluster and

it will be the jobs that it creates.

It will be the new high skill jobs

for the industry.

There's a particular worry

in the NHS this year about flu

following a major outbreak

in Australia - something which would

place a huge strain on already

overstretched emergency services.

This place is being seen

as vital to prevent that.

What we have in this country is the

ability to manufacture vaccines

especially as new variants establish

themselves. That is why it is

particularly important, not just for

the jobs are created here, but that

we build on our strengths are in the

world.

Meanwhile, NHS advice to everyone,

particularly those at high risk,

is get that vaccination now.

A man who died following a citizen's

arrest in Wigan has been named

as 25-year-old Jordan Higham.

Officers were called

to Nicol Mere Drive

in Ashton-in-Makerfield early

on Monday morning where they found

the man unresponsive.

He later died in hospital.

Two men questioned on suspicion

of his murder have been released

under investigation.

There's been more disruption

for passengers on public transport

across the region today.

Merseyrail and Northern trains

are both running reduced services

as union members have walked out

for 24 hours in an ongoing

dispute over plans for

driver-only operated trains.

And Arriva bus drivers are holding

the second in a series

of strikes over pay.

Meanwhile, rail passengers in

Lancashire face months of disruption

when Blackpool North Station closes

this Saturday for 19 weeks,

while the track

to Preston is upgraded.

It's part of a billion pound scheme

to electrify one of the busiest rail

routes in the region.

Network Rail says it will help

provide faster, cleaner and more

reliable rail services.

We urge people to plan their

journeys in advance. There is plenty

of information around timetables.

This week, with the leaking

of the so-called Paradise Papers

we've had royalty and celebs

being criticised for using offshore

companies to avoid tax.

The Labour Party joined

in the criticism -

but today two Labour-run councils

were in the frame themselves Sefton

and Warrington had to defend

themselves after it emerged they'd

avoided paying millions of pounds

of tax on major property deals.

Here's our Cheshire Political

Reporter Phil McCann:

The Strand Shopping Centre,

Bootle.

Bought by taxpayers from a company

based in Luxembourg.

Birchwood Park, Warrington.

Bought by taxpayers

from a company based in Jersey.

In both places you can avoid paying

some taxes when you buy property.

If tax-raising authorities are

seeking ways to avoid tax, frankly

we are is a country in a mess. For a

tax-raising authority to do this,

that is thoroughly unwise and

disadvantageous to the ratepayer.

Both councils are Labour run

but in Sefton all parties

voted for the purchase.

In Warrington Birchwood Park cost

the council 200 million pounds.

Lots of companies are investing to

get a longer term income stream and

taking pressure off their budgets.

You have to pay stamp duty to buy a

place like this just like with a

house. But because the details are

held offshore, the council has

avoided paying stamp duty. But it

would have to do so if it had to

bring the asset back on shore.

We will make another decision as an

executive board of the status of an

asset.

Why is it even a debate? Surely you

don't want to be avoiding tax as a

council that collects tax.

I understand part of that logic.

The Lancashire league legend returns

to the club where he made his name.

And 90 years young.

Sir Ken Dodd marks a big birthday

and is looking to the future.

I'm looking forward to being 110 and

still going strong.

Experts are trying to identify

a mystery substance that s been

washing up on the Fylde Coast.

The strange orange material started

appearing at the weekend.

Until they know what it is,

council officials are urging people

not to touch it or allow their dogs

to come into contact with it.

Here s our Chief

Reporter, Dave Guest.

Council workers have been deployed

to track down traces of a mystery

substance that has got environmental

experts puzzled.

The most important

thing is to remove it and then

doubled by get and put it in Cage

vehicle.

You don't know where it's come from.

It has come from the sea, that is

all we know. But we don't know where

and why.

These are some of the larger samples

picked up on the beaches. That could

be palm oil but they are not sure

and it has a strong odour.

How will it be analysed? Sample has

been collected and it will be taken

to a lab. That will give us

information about what it is we will

find out from the various

organisations where is the best

place put it.

It started washing up on beaches

along the coast earlier in the year.

It was not The Rec mate I'd been

disturbed by exceptional tidal

movements. The suspicions were never

completely confirmed. If it is palm

oil, it is harmless to humans though

potentially dangerous for dogs. Have

you heard about the pollution?

Yes, we certainly heard about it.

Are you taking more care about?

Hide dollars be careful about what

it eats. It doesn't seem to pick

things up.

The advice is not to touch it and

not to let your dog to lick it.

Some sports news now

and Tyson Fury's battle to win

back his boxing license has

taken another twist.

The Morecambe fighter has been out

of the ring for two years

after he tested positive

for a banned steroid.

He insists he's innocent,

claiming it was the result of eating

a type of meat which is naturally

high in testosterone.

Now seniors sources from UK

Anti Doping have told the BBC

they could face insolvency

if the former world champion

is cleared, because he might sue

them for millions of pounds

in loss of earnings.

There's been no further

word from the Fury camp.

Manchester City's revenues

have gone up by more

than a fifth to £473.4 million,

according to the latest

set of figures.

The Blues made a profit of just over

a million pounds from July of last

year to the end of June this year.

Chairman Kaldoon Al Mubarak says

there is a "justifiable sense

of ambition and

expectation" at the club.

There was great excitement

at Accrington cricket club last

Back at Accrington cricket

club over 50 years since

he last played for them.

Sir Wes Hall centre

stage once again.

Playing for Accrington was a dream

come true as a professional. I was

on a steep learning curve. To do it

in a match is important. That's what

Accrington did for me.

Sir Wes was one of a number

of West Indian professionals

who brought worldwide fame

to the Lancashire League.

He signed for Accrington in 1960,

playing for three seasons

and taking over 300 wickets.

Alan Doherty was one

of those at the club

who first signed him -

the pair have remained

lifelong friends.

I picked him up at Manchester

Airport which is a downside

different now to what it was then.

People tended to lick on fast

bowlers as nasty and wanting to hurt

people and boastful. They were not

well liked that. But not Wes. He's

different.

We were thinking, what have we got

here? But he showed us.

Trips back to Accrington

are infrequent now,

the last was 26 years ago,

but Sir Wes will never

forget his 60s success.

What are your fondest memories?

Winning the cup. Although I had

better performance is not winning

it. I remember everything about it.

All the players.

The glory days for the Lancashire

League seem a long time ago now,

which is what makes nights

like these all the more special.

One of Liverpool's best loved sons,

and one of the country's

best loved comedians,

Sir Ken Dodd, is 90 today.

He's been in show business for more

than half a century,

and said today he has no

plans to retire.

In a moment we'll hear from Sir Ken

about his life and career.

But first Andy Gill reports

on how his home town

celebrated the big day.

Children from Sir Ken's old primary

school in Knotty Ash welcomed him

to Liverpool Town Hall.

How old do you feel?

The sun is shining, I'm in Liverpool

town hall, I feel 21 and a little

bit.

There were photos on

the Town Hall balcony.

Now that you are 90, any thoughts of

retiring?

Good gracious me, no. While I can, I

will.

There were tributes from fellow

Liverpudlian luminaries.

Some guys go on the stage and think

they're doing well after 20 minutes

but you don't know if he's going to

go on stage and do three or four

hours. He is the daddy.

We are in the greatest part of the

greatest country in the world.

Children told jokes.

I met a Dutch girl but fortunately

she has popped her clogs.

And of course there was a cake.

I am like a human usual going up and

down the waterways and doing the job

I love most, being an entertainer.

What is the one about shrimp that

went to the cocktail party? He

pulled a muscle. I think it's the

way you tell them.

Before today's festivities -

I caught up with the birthday boy -

at the Playhouse Theatre in

Liverpool.

Life for me been a journey. I've

been very blessed. I've got lost a

couple of times. I'm two people. And

the one who is sitting here now and

also the performer.

Why have you never moved?

I live in a beautiful old house. It

was my relatives' house. My father

said, I don't care where you go as

long as you are a clean shirt.

Why have you had longevity?

I've been alive so long, that has a

lot to do with that. Health, I've

been blessed. I don't do dirty. I

don't know how to spell the words.

You have approximately 30 seconds to

make friends with the audience. He

play an audience like you play an

instrument. You know where the

hotspots are, we need coaxing, where

you can flirt.

Where is your favourite theatre?

The one I am playing tonight or

tomorrow night. Every shore has to

be the best year ever doing.

I different audiences different in

different parts of the country?

The best audiences are in the north

and particularly in Merseyside. They

are wonderful people. It has been a

great journey. A wonderful career.

So far. I'm looking forward to being

110 and still going strong.

Many happy returns and thank you for

talking to us.

Thank you, Lord Rodger.

Did he have his tickling stick with

him?

He did.

What is the weather going to be

like?

Today was a dry and bright one. It

started off quite chilly and misty.

Some gorgeous weather Watchers

pictures. Very much a typical autumn

morning. Then we are back in the

damp and drizzly stuff. It is a

weather fronts moving through, kind

of fragmented. It would be hammering

on the windows all night. Dull and

damp and drizzly with a more

persistent burst now and then.

Temperatures sub zero in places

under clear skies. When you get up

first thing tomorrow morning, all of

this will still be around. It is

dropping south relatively quickly

softer watch the timeline it clears

the Isle of Man around 6am. This

clearance works its way in nicely as

the morning progresses. Lots and

lots of sunshine. While the start of

the day is slow, it will turn out to

feel and look better than today. He

don't have that slow start. When the

sun comes through it will work its

magic can be quite nice.

Get rid of that cloud first thing in

the morning and that is a nice day.

What happens after that? When the

sun goes down it is fairly clear

initially but the cloud rolls on and

he comes another weather front which

means that tomorrow it is not too

cool at night either. Get rid of

that on Friday, which is a bit of a

struggle. Eventually it will clear

and as we go towards the weekend the

winds will come from the north.

You mentioned last night how clear

the skies were.

And just before we go,

have a look at these amazing

pictures of the Northern Lights -

captured by Dave Corkish yesterday

evening at Peel on the Isle of Man.

Still in my bucket list to see it

with my own eyes.

And you always think you have to go

to somewhere like Iceland but

actually, the Isle of Man.

We are back at 10:30pm. Goodbye.