Kim McGuinness also announces the £1 public transport youth fare cap will be extended.

About 18 students enrolled in the two joint business degrees at Northumbria University this year.

Charlie Roberts' dad says he thought his son's bruises were accidents while he learned to walk.

Christopher Bell admits being the owner of an out-of-control XL bully which killed his neighbour.

The stabbing took place during a reported fight involving people carrying knives, police say.

Scaffolding stands around the building as work to turn it into an adult learning hub gets under way.

Officers in Sunderland will speak to children who regularly go missing and give them support.

South Tyneside and Stockton are among councils who may be sued over solar power investments.

Conservative former Cumberland Mayor Mike Starkie criticises inheritance tax changes in the budget.

Beaurepaire, near Bearpark, is no longer on Historic Enlgand's at risk list.

Thanks to 120 volunteers and the opening of its new Peter Olsen Community Hub, the club is thriving.

There has been a surge in violence against the police, a BBC investigation has found.

Police are appealing for witnesses after the woman was killed on Saturday morning.

The Coastal Grasslands Reconnected Project will focus on an area between Nose's Point and Horden.

It is hoped the automatic sign up will become a standard practice after a pilot in County Durham.