Bradford Council has been criticised for leaving its anti-social behaviour team without a manager for nine months.

The Council confirmed the appointment of a new manager at a meeting of the authority's safer communities committee this week.

The move was welcomed by Councillor Dave Green (Lab, Wibsey), but he said the tenancy enforcement section has been "leaderless" all that time.

"What we have got in this Council, because we have not got the policy drive to deliver, is an anti-social behaviour team which is doing their best, but has nobody leading them," he said.

"This committee should ask why we have not had a leader in that team since January."

The team tackles complaints about tenants and anti-social behaviour across the district.

The authority's interim assistant chief executive, Alan Dalton, declined to give reasons for the vacancy, but said: "There was a personnel situation in the team which meant we could not appoint a manager, but a manager has now been appointed."

Afterwards Coun Green said more political leadership should have been shown to sort the problem out.

He said: "There was clearly an impact on services - if the experience I have had as a local ward councillor in trying to resolve some of the anti-social behaviour problems are reflected across the district. The councillors have not been getting a response to their complaints, and neither have the people on the ground. There is this feeling that their concerns are not being addressed properly."

However Councillor Simon Cooke, the portfolio holder for housing, claims the service has been running smoothly.

He said none of the authority's inspections have revealed any problems in the anti-social behaviour team.

"We can only deal with concerns that are brought to our attention and I have not received any complaints on the service," he said.

"If Councillor Green has evidence, he has not brought it to me and I suspect he is mischief-making.

"If there are problems people should raise them."