A DIVIDE between the North and South can be traced back to the very start of a child's education, according to a report released today that claims this could hurt any future plans for a 'Northern Powerhouse'.

The Institute of Public Policy Research's annual State of the North report shows that in Yorkshire a total of 47 per cent of children from the poorest backgrounds achieved a ‘good’ level of development by the age of five.

In London that figure was 59 per cent.

Other areas of the North also perform well below London standards.

The institute says this poor performance at a young age means the North will continue to struggle to compete with the capital and other areas of the South.

The report says: "Early years and school education form the foundations for a skilled workforce, and once again, it is likely that failures affecting people at earlier ages are at the root of the relatively poor levels of workforce skills in the North.

"It is concerning that employers in the North report skills gaps in their current workforce and when recruiting."

Ed Cox, director at IPPR North, said: "If the Northern Powerhouse is to drive national prosperity, these figures show the challenges it must overcome to become a reality. We will never become a powerhouse economy when our children and young people have such a poor start in life.

"It will take a generation of investment: not only in new railways and motorways, but in the ‘human capital’ of the North – in education and training, starting with the youngest.”

Councillor Susanne Hinchcliffe, executive for education, skills and culture on Bradford Council, said: "What worries me is that we are becoming a divided nation under this Government.

"Government cuts have fallen unequally, hitting northern cities and councils disproportionately hard.

"But on top of that we have 36,000 households across the district on working family tax credits. These families, through no fault of their own, are now also threatened by the latest Government cuts to welfare. All this is extremely detrimental to children in struggling families in Bradford."

However, Councillor Simon Cooke, leader of the Conservative group on the Council said he was sceptical of the report's findings.

"The problem with the IPPR is that for every time they point at a problem, they never offer any direction," he said.

"All they want to do is criticise Government without making any attempts to improve things. They think the only way to improve things is to throw lots of money at regeneration and that doesn't work.

"It is not about looking at what the public sector can do to change things, but about allowing the private sector to grow and succeed without local government getting in the way."