BRADFORD Council should learn lessons from its attempts to save money by reorganising Bradford's children's centres, a programme that has been hit by delays.

Cutbacks and reorganisations of the district's 41 centres were announced last year as a way of saving £2.4 million from the budget.

The centres have been re-arranged into seven "clusters". The last three of these were meant to be formed in October, but delays due to the complexity of the existing structures of the centres, including existing legal agreements and tenancy issues, mean they will not be ready until April 1.

The delays will cost the council £700,000 of their projected savings.

The council's Children's Services Scrutiny Committee discussed the issue last night, with chairman Councillor Malcolm Sykes saying: "We will have to find that £700,000 somewhere else now. What have we learned from this that we won't do again?"

Linda Mason, Interim Assistant Director for Access and Inclusion, said: "I'd say the important thing is to fully understand the history of how you got to where you are. Don't underestimate the issues that might lie beneath any programme you are taking forward."