Government support for England's regions is to be tailored to reflect the economic challenges each of them face.

In what was billed as signalling a major shift in the way the Government funds regional economic policy, Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers told the North-East CBI in Gateshead last night that next year's budget of £54m of support for innovation and enterprise would be shared according to each region's needs.

This would probably mean more cash for the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire and Humberside and the Midlands, as well as run-down parts of London, in an implicit recognition of a North-South divide, which has been consistently been highlighted in a campaign by The Northern Echo.

Mr Byers' comments follow a speech earlier in the North-East by Tony Blair, in which he stressed the need to ensure that the prosperity being enjoyed by parts of Britain are shared by all the country.

Mr Blair said: "As a North-East MP, I know the challenges here are real and I also know that we can meet them and get this region sharing properly in growing prosperity."

Mr Blair was speaking in his Sedgefield constituency after hearing his 77-year-old father Leo had been admitted to hospital for a check-up after feeling unwell while out walking.

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