In a day of great political drama, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott yesterday postponed regional referendums for Yorkshire and the North-West, but confirmed that the North-East would go ahead with its vote on November 4. Chris Lloyd reports.

Lost amid all the hullabaloo about the Government's embarrassment over its U-turn was the draft Bill that slipped out. It outlines exactly what powers an elected assembly would have.

The Bill was supposed to put the flesh on the bones of the idea, and Yes campaigners were quietly relieved with what they read within it. The drift is now towards giving the assemblies more powers - as recent announcements on transport and learning and skills show - rather than fewer.

Some of these powers appear quite profound. As well as taking control of the regional development agency, an assembly will effectively be in command of learning and skills development in the region and of social housing policy.

Yet it will not easily be sold to the electorate. The assembly will not deal in concrete issues like the running of schools or hospitals. Instead, its planning function will be to take over responsibility for the regional spatial strategy.

Whereas improved schools are wanted in every town, an improved regional spatial strategy is not the talk of Shildon, Sedgefield, Spennymoor or anywhere else beginning with the letter 's'.

Between now and November 4, the Yes campaigners will have to translate such government-ese into meaningful language for real people. They will have to show how these powers will have a beneficial effect on everyday lives.

This draft Bill will only be presented to Parliament should the North-East vote Yes. This is what it says:

THE MAKE-UP OF AN ELECTED ASSEMBLY An elected regional assembly...

* will have between 25 and 35 members elected by proportional representation. The members will elect a leader who will appoint a cabinet of between three and seven people.

* will have assembly participants: "representatives of employers and employees, voluntary organisations, community groups and local authorities". The assembly will take advice from such people, co-opt them onto monitoring committees and use them as policy advisors.

* will be funded by a block grant from central government. Band D council taxpayers will contribute 5p a week to its runnings - although the assembly could vote to increase that a little. The assembly could borrow money, but such borrowings will tightly control its borrowing.

* will directly spend more than £350m - a figure revised upwards yesterday as some of the Learning and Skills Council budget was given to it - and have influence over a further £700m.

* will have a chief executive and a staff of about 200, most of which will be inherited from other bodies like the Government Office North-East.

* will decide where it is to be based - although Durham City is increasingly seen as the preferred candidate.

POWERS OF AN ELECTED ASSEMBLY "Elected assemblies will be expected to improve the quality of life for people in their regions, particularly by improving regional economic performance." - Yesterday's policy statement from the Government.

Regional Development Agency (RDA): Command of the RDA One NorthEast will switch from central government to regional government, although the agency will "retain its present day-to-day operational independence". The assembly will appoint the agency's chair and board, after consultation with the Government.

Small businesses: The assembly will work with the Small Business Service (SBS) to "improve advice and information about the economic growth priorities of the region".

Training and skills: A Regional Skills Partnership is being set up by the RDA bringing together the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Jobcentre Plus, the Sector Skills Development Agency and the SBS. The assembly will lead the Partnership and will appoint five members of the LSC boards. It will also take control of a proportion of the LSC's regional £200m budget. The policy statement says: "The intention is to enable the Partnership to function as a dynamic strategic driver for identifying and acting on skills, business support, productivity and labour market priorities."

Europe: Assembly to take over from the Government Office in the region when applying for funds from EU.

Planning: It will "be responsible for reviewing and revising regional spatial strategies". The Secretary of State's powers to call in "strategic planning applications" for review will go to the assembly.

Housing: The assembly will largely take over from the Housing Corporation and central government in deciding "the location of new housing, the need for new social housing... and investment in existing stock." It would be able to give councils money to invest in or build new council houses.

Transport: Will decide timetables, fares and, in some cases, operators of public transport like railways and buses, and so create a regional transport strategy.

Arts and sports: Still rather vague, but the assembly will appoint the members of the regional arts council and the regional sports board, and discuss their performance with them, although these bodies' money will continue to come through the Arts Council and Sport England.

Tourism and heritage: It was expected to take control of English Heritage's sites in the region, but that is no longer going to happen. The assembly will work with English Heritage, and it will take control of the museums and libraries budgets.

Environment: It will create a regional waste strategy, and "take action to promote and conserve biodiversity in the region".

Fire and rescue: A regional fire service controlled by the assembly will take charge of large-scale terrorist incidents and environmental disasters.