:00:00. > :00:11.we are back with the late news at 11.00pm.
:00:12. > :00:15.A man's been charged with the murder of Paul Groom,
:00:16. > :00:17.who died on Merseyside last weekend.
:00:18. > :00:18.The 48-year-old from Fazackley suffered head injuries
:00:19. > :00:23.in a suspected assault a few days earlier in Kirby.
:00:24. > :00:25.Michael Hill, who is 32 and from Kirkby,
:00:26. > :00:30.will appear before magistrates tomorrow.
:00:31. > :00:34.Some schools in the North West look set to lose as much as 10%
:00:35. > :00:36.of their income after the Government changed its funding formula.
:00:37. > :00:39.It means jobs could be lost at schools in West Cheshire
:00:40. > :00:41.and Manchester but, in other places, budgets will increase.
:00:42. > :00:49.It's trigonometry time for this year nine maths class at Burnage Academy,
:00:50. > :00:53.but it's sums of a different type bothering the head.
:00:54. > :00:56.He thinks up to 10% could be cut from his school's budget
:00:57. > :01:01.You can't take 10%, say, of that money
:01:02. > :01:04.from the running costs of the school -
:01:05. > :01:07.it is going to affect staffing, more than likely.
:01:08. > :01:10.And that will, of course, affect what happens in the class
:01:11. > :01:14.There are winners and losers across our region
:01:15. > :01:18.Amongst the winners are Blackpool, Knowsley and Bury,
:01:19. > :01:22.who will all see a 2% increase in their funding.
:01:23. > :01:25.The biggest losers are schools like this one in Manchester -
:01:26. > :01:31.Also losing out is Cheshire West and Chester schools.
:01:32. > :01:38.Those figures are just for the first year under this new formula.
:01:39. > :01:41.The Government says the settlement does make things fairer.
:01:42. > :01:43.I think, over time, there's been an increasing imbalance
:01:44. > :01:46.between inner city schools and other schools.
:01:47. > :01:52.that there is a more reasonable balance.
:01:53. > :01:54.The changes may be welcome in Trafford,
:01:55. > :01:55.but not in Ellesmere Port and Neston,
:01:56. > :02:00.I think there is a slight weighting towards rural areas,
:02:01. > :02:04.but I think the core problem, really,
:02:05. > :02:10.is that school funding has not been keeping up with inflation.
:02:11. > :02:11.The National Audit Office warned this week
:02:12. > :02:15.that there was a ?3 billion gap in funding for schools.
:02:16. > :02:18.That means in Burnage and beyond, whether you are a winner or loser
:02:19. > :02:27.this week, more pressure on budgets appears inevitable.
:02:28. > :02:30.Hundreds of people have attended a Christmas carol concert in Chester
:02:31. > :02:34.It's the second year the Catherdral has held such an event
:02:35. > :02:36.to help civilians in the war-torn country.
:02:37. > :02:46.From parishioners and politicians to people out Christmas shopping,
:02:47. > :02:54.they came with Syria in their thoughts.
:02:55. > :02:57.It's believed half the population of Syria have fled their homes
:02:58. > :02:59.since the war began, and there were songs and prayers
:03:00. > :03:06.something that's on our screens daily at the moment,
:03:07. > :03:11.as it was in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.
:03:12. > :03:16."How can we help the Christ child this Christmas,
:03:17. > :03:18.and those especially in Aleppo, Yemen and across the world?"
:03:19. > :03:21.The concert was free, but people were asked
:03:22. > :03:24.to make a donation to the charity Christian Aid,
:03:25. > :03:28.one of many working to ease the suffering.
:03:29. > :03:30.It's so terrible to see the scenes are suffering
:03:31. > :03:33.that there are out in Syria, and it is an opportunity for people
:03:34. > :03:38.to show kindness and compassion for those that are really suffering.
:03:39. > :03:40.Been very upsetting, really, hasn't it?
:03:41. > :03:46.we thought we'd give some contribution.
:03:47. > :03:51.We should all be thinking about people over there
:03:52. > :03:53.and doing what we can, the little we can.
:03:54. > :03:57.It's all we can do, you know, try and support them as much as we can.
:03:58. > :04:00.Some of the money will also support Syrian refugees
:04:01. > :04:11.Rail services in Manchester will be disrupted between now
:04:12. > :04:15.and January the 3rd as work begins on the Ordsall Chord.
:04:16. > :04:18.The new track will connect Manchester's Victoria and Piccadilly
:04:19. > :04:22.A bridge will be removed and the line electrified
:04:23. > :04:27.to improve services for passengers across the north of England.
:04:28. > :04:30.In the Premier League, two of our clubs kicked off at 4pm.
:04:31. > :04:42.Manchester City are leading Arsenal 2-1.
:04:43. > :04:44.And Burnley are also losing at Spurs 2-1
:04:45. > :04:46.In Rugby Union, Sale's controversial new signing, Denny Solomona,
:04:47. > :04:49.will make his debut tonight when they line up against Saracens
:04:50. > :04:52.The winger switched codes by leaving a two-year contract
:04:53. > :04:54.with Superleague's Castleford Tigers to join Sale.
:04:55. > :04:57.Castleford are taking legal action for breach of contract.
:04:58. > :05:05.Well, we did have quite a misty, murky day today,
:05:06. > :05:09.and we've got more mist and murk on the way this evening.
:05:10. > :05:10.High pressure still broadly in charge of our weather,
:05:11. > :05:13.but with that included front coming towards us, we are expecting
:05:14. > :05:15.some drizzly conditions at times throughout the day.
:05:16. > :05:17.Looking at the detail for the rest of the night,
:05:18. > :05:21.there are a few mist and fog patches in places.
:05:22. > :05:25.Where there are a few breaks in the cloud,
:05:26. > :05:28.you may see just a sparkle of frost in rural spots,
:05:29. > :05:33.Tomorrow morning, some of those patches of mist and fog
:05:34. > :05:35.may take some time to clear, so quite a grey start.
:05:36. > :05:38.It's a brightness here and there, but some drizzly conditions as well,
:05:39. > :05:52.Rather cloudy weather on the way for the next few days.
:05:53. > :05:57.We'll be back with the late news at around 11:20pm.
:05:58. > :06:16.Hello. Exactly a week to Christmas but it did not feel that way in
:06:17. > :06:18.north-east Scotland today with temperatures as high as 13 Celsius
:06:19. > :06:19.in