A demand for more funding for north-east England is to be taken to Parliament by councillors from the region.

A delegation from the Association of North East Councils (ANEC) is to put its case to 35 local MPs when they meet in London on Tuesday.

A Commons debate is taking place on Thursday on how to allocate funding to local authority areas, and the councillors hope MPs will put a strong case for more funding for the region.

Councillor Tony Flynn, leader of Newcastle council, said: "This is a real opportunity to allocate funds to help close the North-South divide, and speed up the pace of change in the North East."

Health care

He said: "We want to help the Government achieve its pledge to improve the economic performance of the regions and reduce the growth rates between regions."

He will tell the Northern Group of Labour MPs, which includes members from the Scottish Borders to Teesside, that more money is needed for key services such as education, health and social care provision.

He said if the government changed its Formula Grant Review criteria it could mean an extra �130m for the North-East next year.

Earlier this year the TUC said another �45m was needed to help the North East close the north-south divide.

It said regional development agency One North East (ONE) needed the money to bring jobs to the area, and pay for extra skills training.