Almost half of households do not see benefits from economic growth

Almost half of households in Britain do not see benefits from economic growth, a new report says.

A study by consultancy firm PwC found that the gap in spending power between north and south England is stark.

The findings come as Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to tackle regional inequalities in order to boost living standards.

Researchers at PwC said every region in the north of England, midlands and Wales had a lower spending power than the country's average, with London and the South East comfortably above.

The equivalent of 12. 5 million households - 46% - lived in parts of the country where economic growth was not leading to better living standards.

Household spending power is seen as a good measure of whether economic growth is improving living standards.

PwC measures this by looking at income after taxes and housing costs, and takes into account the size and makeup of a household.

The UK has seen years of weak growth, although the economy expanded by 1. 2% in the first six months of this year, according to official figures.

Most countries want economic growth because it usually means people spend more, extra jobs are created, more tax is paid to the government and workers get better pay rises.