A powerful case for a skills decision-making organisation in Bradford has been made to Yorkshire Forward - the Regional Development Agency.

Bradford Congress, the district's key umbrella organisation, has prepared its case after weeks of consultation. The 12-page document was sent to the RDA yesterday - the deadline for submissions.

The document praises the Telegraph & Argus for its Don't Skill Us Off campaign which has highlighted the work Bradford TEC has done to support firms and help people get jobs.

The submission follows weeks of debate in the city following the Government's decision to scrap England's 74 Training & Enterprise Councils and set up 50 Learning & Skills Councils.

Congress wants Yorkshire Forward - whose chief executive is Martin Havenhand - to ignore Government demands that L&SCs can only be set up in areas with populations of more than 500,000 and give Bradford, which has 488,000 people, its own skills base group.

The document argues that Bradford should be a special case because:

The district has a higher jobless figure than other places in West Yorkshire;

There are a high number of jobless people from ethnic backgrounds in the city;

The district has low educational attainment;

A greater dependency on manufacturing industries which are suffering;

Higher levels of deprivation.

Charles Forgan, Bradford Congress secretary, said: "We think the proposals which demand that there should be only 50 Learning & Skills Councils are wrong. These proposals disempower Bradford. We want Yorkshire Forward to have the bottle to fight a case for more than 50 Learning & Skills Councils and recommend one for Bradford."

Yorkshire Forward is carrying out a widespread consultation into where the L&SC and Small Business Services boundaries should be.

The Regional Development Agency will make a decision on whether Bradford gets its own L&SC at its board meeting at the end of the month and make a recommendation to the Government.

Don Stewart, a director of Yorkshire Forward, said: "Yorkshire Forward has been carrying out a consultation and receiving submissions on Learning & Skills Councils. That consultation period ended yesterday and we shall be considering all the submissions at our board meeting on September 20.

"The board will consider a recommendation from the executive and decide what advice to give to Government at the end of September."

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