The UK is committed to spend 0.7% of the country's gross national income on aid every year, but is this money well spent or being frittered away?

Thanks for joining us for our live feed today, and through the week - we're heading off now to settle in front of the TV ahead of Children in Need, which starts at 19:30 on BBC One.

Have a scroll back down the page if you'd like to catch up on what we've been talking about today - including lots of Children in Need events across Essex.

Have a great weekend!

Julie Reinger
BBC Look East weather

A largely dry night with isolated showers and a fairly widespread frost, but a warning that some icy patches could develop as temperatures in some spots fall to freezing.

Saturday will be another cold day with sunny spells and perhaps an odd shower. 

It'll be less windy than today with the temperature peaking at 6C (43F).

More details from BBC Weather:

A planning inquiry into development at a historic park has been called off after three days.

An agreement has been reached between Tendring District Council, external and the owners of St Osyth Priory, who withdrew an appeal they had lodged against the local authority's plans.

In return for the owners agreeing to spend £7.4m on repairing the site's buildings, the council agreed to grant conditional planning permission for development in and around the parkland.

Image source, Tendring District Council

A dog is thought to be behind a blaze in the kitchen of a house in Colchester this afternoon.

Firefighters were called to the property in Braithwaite Drive at 15:17, and found the house was full of smoke.

Station Officer Trevor Watson said: "The fire is thought to have started accidentally when their dog had jumped up at their cooker and turned the cooker on.

"The family had been decorating their kitchen and had put a paint tin and a box on top of their cooker. When the hob heated up these items caught alight and caused the fire."

Earlier on we told you about our competition to guess the length of BBC Children in Need ribbon around BBC Essex towers. 

Well, we've got some news on that front...

Police in Colchester are investigating after a man tried to lure a teenager into his car.

As first reported in the Colchester Gazette, external, officers were called to Brinkley Lane just before 16:30 on Wednesday.

Image source, Google

The 15-year-old girl said she'd been stopped by a man in a car who engaged her in conversation. 

He then asked her to get into the vehicle, but she refused. 

Essex Police is now appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Jodie Halford
BBC News

Train operator Greater Anglia has said it's "very sorry" for the severe disruption that affected services through Essex last night.

A train fault "meant the service recovery process was particularly long and complicated", the company said.

"We will be holding a review into the incident with the aims of preventing a repetition of the train fault." 

The Children in Need bear has been at Gallagher Bassett in Chelmsford:

The Colchester United head coach John McGreal says he's not prepared to give up a job he's worked hard to get. 

The U's have gone 12 matches without a win and are third from bottom in League Two.

Image source, Colchester United

McGreal believes things will turn around: "I've worked ever so hard to get in this position and I'm going to keep trying. 

"I'm going to keep staying positive and driving them boys on until we get that win."

Colchester travel to Yeovil in League Two on Saturday.

BBC Weather

It's chilly out there today, isn't it? This afternoon's due to continue in much the same fashion, though there will also be sunny spells alongside that cool breeze.

Later on, most places will be dry with light winds and clear spells. A touch of frost is likely, particularly for rural spots.

Check the latest forecast for where you live here.

How does the money you donate for BBC Children in Need help children in Essex? 

Here's just one example of where the money goes...

Pudsey's getting out and about across the county today. 

He's been to Chipping Ongar Primary School, where he got a very enthusiastic reception and many a high five.

If you'd like to find out more about Essex projects and schemes helped by Children in Need, have a look here under the "List of stories by BBC Local Radio area" section.

The MP for Maldon says FIFA look ridiculous for taking disciplinary action against England and Scotland after players wore poppies during their World Cup qualifier on Armistice Day last week. 

The organisation classes poppies as political symbols, which - along with religious symbols - are banned from the pitch.

Image source, PA

"The idea that the wearing of a poppy is in any way political is absurd," John Whittingdale said.

"FIFA has so many problems and there are so many things wrong in football at the moment - for them to pursue something like this just further discredits the organisation."

Through the day, we'll be looking at where donations to BBC Children in Need go, and the young people your money is helping.

For youngsters in Tendring, the funding goes towards a service which is invaluable for helping youngsters cope with anxiety, depression and suicide. 

Something to be aware of if you're heading to Lakeside for a bit of Christmas shopping...

BBC Essex has learned a cat and two chihuahua harnesses are among the 400 gifts given to police officers in our county by members of the public over a four-year period.

Steve Taylor from the Essex Police Federation, external, says there are very strict rules: "We must never accept anything that calls into question our impartiality.

"At the same time we have to balance the need not to be rude - in some cultures it's deeply insulting to return a gift."

Chigwell snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan is out of the Northern Ireland Open.

Image source, Getty Images

He lost his last 16 match to Kyren Wilson 4-3, despite rattling off three successive centuries after falling 3-0 behind. 

Braintree's Mark King is through to today's quarter-finals after a 4-2 win over Kurt Maflin.

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has defended its policy of rehousing some vulnerable people in north Essex. 

As we've been reporting today, Tendring District Council has criticised the actions. 

"We're trying to support residents, because the government is doing it to all of us," said Darren Rodwell, the Labour leader of the east London council.

"What we need is a collective response to say the policy on housing needs to change - we need to build more homes, and actually this is nothing new."

London boroughs are "taking the easy option" when it comes to dealing with the impact of a new benefit cap, a Tendring councillor says.

The cap could mean people who live in London and can't afford rented accommodation are forced out of the capital into surrounding counties, putting pressure on local services, Paul Honeywood said.

A reduction in the amount of money people get came into force earlier this month.