A report calls on the Government to put more effort into closing the gap between the poverty of the North and the wealth of the South. Hayley Gyllenspetz reports.

THERE is a stark conclusion to the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) report which examines the differences between the economies of the North and the South - the North is much poorer.

With high unemployment and low investment, the region is at the bottom of the economic pile. According to the IPPR report, the lowest employment figures in England are in the North-East.

Only 67.8 per cent of the region's population are in work, compared with 71.9 per cent in London.

A massive 20.2 per cent of people of working age in the North-East claim benefits, compared with 8.5 per cent in the South-East.

Unemployment figures have a direct link to wealth, with 28 per cent of people in the North-East at risk from poverty compared with 16 per cent in the South-East.

Strangely, there is an equally high risk of poverty in London, but for the most part the difference between wealth in the North and South is stark and the report highlights the "injustice" felt by many in the North-East at not receiving government support to overcome their problems.

The differences between the two halves are also evident in issues such as housing and education. In the North-East, the average price of a house is £78,463 compared with £206,270 in London.

In education, only ten per cent of adults in the North-East have a degree, compared with 25 per cent in London, and almost 29 per cent in the North-East have no qualifications at all.

But rather than concentrating on improving education and training, the report concludes that more jobs should be created in the North-East - because without jobs there is little point in training people.

The report states there is practically no government spending on research and development in the region and this must change if businesses are to set up, creating the much-needed employment.

John Adams, the report's author, said: "The scale of the Government's challenge in meeting their ambitious commitment to reduce the persistent gap in growth rates between the regions cannot be underestimated.

"While the picture is not completely even, especially in relation to London, the North is quite simply poorer than the South."