Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Keighley and Ilkley John Grogan has welcomed the decision of Bradford’s Schools Forum to allocate £3 million to support Children's Centres which gives fresh hope that services at the Little Lane Centre in Ilkley can be maintained for another year.

The Schools Forum is an official body made up of a representative sample of head teachers and school governors which has power to advise on and approve the distribution of the council's education funding.

Mr Grogan said: “Basically the chair of Children's Services in Bradford, Councillor Ralph Berry has managed to broker this deal which would allow services at Children's centres in Bradford to continue at current levels for another 12 months. This would allow time for alternative ways of managing and funding them in the longer term to be explored which will probably involve a much closer association with local primary schools.

“Education Secretary Michael Gove now has to sign off this plan but I have every hope that he will do so. I think that the energetic and well organised campaign by parents in Ilkley to save the Little Lane Children's centre was important in helping bringing about this progress.”

A 478-name petition calling for the Little Lane Children’s Centre in Ilkley to be saved from council cuts was handed in to a full meeting of Bradford Council last week.

The petition was one of seven handed in by representatives of children’s centres which are under threat across the district, including Menston and Burley Children’s Centre.