Policies for dealing with bullying in Bradford schools need a radical shake-up, says a government minister.

And tougher action needs to be taken by the Council to protect vulnerable children, especially when bullying is racially-motivated.

Bradford MP Gerry Sutcliffe held talks with Schools Minister Derek Twigg following reports in the Telegraph & Argus highlighting problems in the city's schools.

The MP for Bradford South said Bradford Council had a responsibility to protect children from bullying when the school has failed.

Following his meeting with Mr Twigg, he said: "I talked to him about the reports highlighting the issues at a number of schools in Bradford and he was concerned.

"He said the Local Education Authority (LEA) should being doing more to make sure Bradford's schools have procedures in place to deal with bullying effectively."

Mr Sutcliffe said the LEA (both the Council and Education Bradford) should mediate in situations where parents were unhappy with the action the school took.

He said: "If a number of complaints are received by parents they should be flagged up and investigated by the Council.

"The LEA should act as a safety valve to ensure matters are dealt with and the bullying stops."

He also said that all reports of bullying should be logged by schools so a record could be kept by the Council.

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) had set up an Anti-Bullying Alliance last year to tackle the problem nationally.

The alliance is made up of more than 50 public and private sector businesses including a number of LEAs.

Mr Sutcliffe said: "Bradford Council should sign up to that to demonstrate their commitment."

Hundreds of schools took part in the first National Anti-Bullying Week, organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, in November.

The five-day event included educational programmes aimed at tackling the issues surrounding bullying.

Phil Green, Bradford Council's Director of Education, said: "Bullying is an issue we take very seriously and we welcome new initiatives like the Anti-Bullying Alliance. We already have procedures in place if parents are unhappy with a school's response to their concerns and these are regularly updated and reviewed to ensure they remain effective."

Paul Parker, of Education Bradford, said: "We provide support to schools and part of that includes assisting them with bullying.

"But each school is responsible for implementing its own anti-bullying policy and dealing with cases of bullying within the school."