You'd quite like to stay in the UK and preferable in the NW where I am now
This could be an issue.
If you want to be a pilot you have to accept that you could end up working anywhere in the world. Furthermore, if you do get lucky and get a job in the UK, you could still loose your job at any time and be forced to either quit the profession or head to a less savoury part of the globe. Experienced hires within the UK are now few and far between and the situation will only get worse as the industry consolidates further.
You have to be prepared to go to where the work is.
aptitude test... The only one you should rely on is GAPANs
I was let down badly by GAPAN, who told me I had "low chance of success in pilot training". We were told to believe these results as they were proven to be correct. I
somehow managed to pass all ATPL theory exams with first time passes, first time pass at CPL, first series pass at IR and made command at my airline in minimum hours. Something doesn't add up.
I have spoken to ex military pilots who were involved with the military tests at RAF Cranwell, which GAPAN use in their aptitude tests, who burst out in to open laughter when I told them I had considered giving up after my low score with GAPAN. The tests are used to test military grade flying. You will (hopefully) never need to fly inverted, pulling negative G, at night, whilst being shot at in civilian operations. The required aptitude is not the same!