A CONFERENCE which examined ways of tackling the North-South divide was held in the region yesterday.

The office of the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, which deals with housing, planning, local Government, and the regions, heard evidence on reducing regional differences in prosperity at the event, at Newcastle Civic Centre.

Groups, including the Government Office for the North-East, Nexus, the North-East Regional Assembly, and One NorthEast, made representations, but the event was cut short due to the impending war with Iraq.

Further evidence will be heard at sessions on April 1, 8, and 30.

As part of its submission, the North-East Regional Assembly called for a directly elected regional government.

A spokesman said: "We view the proposed regional assemblies as a first step towards effective regional government that could help to significantly reduce regional disparities.

"However, we believe that the current proposals for elected regional assemblies offer rather limited powers and resources, so will only be able to have a relatively limited impact on disparities."

The assembly said the divide would be tackled through even distribution of public research activity, investment in transport, and the renewal of the regional housing market.

It also called for dedicated funding for the North-East of £1bn a year by 2006, to bring it in line with Scottish funding.