MORE than 400,000 people in the North-East have trouble with basic reading, writing and maths, according to a new report.

The TUC report, entitled Half The World Away - Making Regional Development Work, to be published next Monday, finds that the region has the UK's worst levels of basic skills.

It reveals that a total of 418,662 people have poor literacy and 438,558 poor numeracy, with skills levels varying in different areas.

The region's lowest are in Easington, County Durham, where almost one in three have problems with reading, writing and arithmetic, compared with Castle Morpeth, in Northumberland, which em-erges top with one in five residents having poor literacy and numeracy.

The report says that low aspirations, low skills, unemployment and low productivity all go hand-in-hand and that regional development agencies, such as One NorthEast, need extra funding to support workforce development, tackle unemployment and boost productivity.

TUC learning services co-ordinator Anne Hanson said: "The North-East has the worst basic skills shortages in the UK, but the worst of the worst are concentrated in smaller areas. There really is no future for our economy in low-skill, low-wage, high-volume, low-quality production.

"The future for the North-East is in a highly skilled workforce which can adapt to new ways of working.

"Working with employers and unions, One NorthEast is already making a difference and with more funding could help boost our region's skills."

While the number of North-East youngsters remaining in full-time education after the age of 16 has dramatically increased since the late 1980s, the region continues to have England's lowest participation rate. By contrast, almost one fifth of 16 and 17-year-olds are in Government-backed training - the highest rate of any region.

Qualification levels obtained by North-East people of working age are well below UK averages.

Labour MP for Easington John Cummings said: "It is my intention to speak to the respective agencies to find out what plans they have to ensure that there are adequate resources directed into areas of concern. It's a matter of all the agencies pulling together with one common objective."