CHRONIC transport problems in the North-East will only be tackled if an elected assembly is given its own funds to spend, a committee of MPs was told yesterday.

The North-East Assembly - the unelected body that will be replaced if there is a Yes vote on November 4 - criticised the limited powers proposed for road and rail.

It told the committee that an elected assembly should enjoy "revenue and capital allocations" to set up extra train services where they were needed.

And it should be given powers over trunk roads, together with money to spend on badly-needed improvements to the road network.

The frustration reflects last year's shock cutbacks to train links from Teesside to Tyneside and the long-running failure to win approval for dualling the A1.

Councillor Bob Gibson, the assembly's chairman, told MPs: "The Government's strategy on transport tends to be about congestion in the South-East, not economic development in the North-East.

"We need better connections to Scotland, Europe, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. We can't do that without the powers that are down here in Westminster and Whitehall."

At present, the Government is prepared to allow the assembly to switch spending from rail to buses or light rail - but not to provide a separate pot for transport.

Significantly, the plea for more power in relation to transport was echoed by the North-East Chamber of Commerce in its evidence to the committee.

Coun Gibson, leader of Stockton Borough Council, also criticised the limited proposed powers over health, which would prevent an elected assembly introducing a smoking ban in public places.

And he called for a commitment to equality for women and ethnic minorities, which would encourage the North- East to match the Welsh Assembly, where 50 per cent of members are female.

However, Coun Gibson said he was not too dismayed by the lack of powers in certain areas because - like Scotland and Wales - more responsibilities could be devolved in years to come.

He said: "It's a case of what we drag out of the Government from then on. This is a process that begins on November 6, not an event that ends on November 4."

In his evidence, to the select committee that shadows the office of the deputy prime minister, Coun Gibson also called for a bigger elected assembly - perhaps of 45 members.