BUSINESS, Council and charity leaders will be sharing advice and training to help keep Bradford moving despite ongoing funding cuts.

A new coaching and mentoring initiative involving Bradford Council and the 32 organisations that make up campaign group Bradford Breakthrough will begin in September.

It will involve the Council, which is facing Government cuts in the coming years, working with groups including Incommunities, Bradford City Football Club, Provident Financial and Leeds Bradford Airport to share ideas on improving services in the city.

Leader of the Council David Green said the initiative would help maintain services when budgets were being squeezed and make staff more flexible.

Neighbouring Kirklees Council will also be involved in the scheme.

Chief Executive of Bradford Breakthrough Colin Philpott said: "We are Bradford's senior leaders in both the private and public sector. We are more than a talking shop and we are interested in results and outcomes that take our great city forward.

"We seek to advocate, to influence and to make a difference for the benefit of Bradford and its businesses and I'm sure there is a lot we can learn from each other through this coaching and mentoring initiative."

Councillor Green added: "With a lot less money for public services than we've been used to, we need to do things differently. We need to secure a 'New Deal' with the people of Bradford which means re-assessing our key priorities to meet the needs of local people at a time when we face ongoing cuts.

"Staff will need to share best practice and work even more in partnership with other agencies for a healthier, caring, more prosperous and sustainable Bradford.

"We need to make sure our staff know of as many alternative ways of management and delivering services as possible.

"They are going to be under increasing pressure, and it is important to build links between public and private sector organisations. We will learn from each other, and it is a win-win."

Councillor Simon Cooke, the leader of the Conservative opposition, said he supported the idea, but hopeed the Council and Bradford Breakthrough were open with the public about what they were doing.

"It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference or whether it just ends up as something that has been nice to do," he added.

"Is it just going to be sitting around having a chat or will it be a genuine way of sharing skills with the voluntary sector? If it's the latter then it is a really good idea, as long as it is done openly and publicly.

"If Bradford Breakthrough is going to play a wider role in public life then it needs to be more open and let the public know what discussions are taking place.

"At the moment I'm not sure what they do, and I'm the leader of the opposition on the Council."