Bradford Council is drawing up plans to introduce an anti-bullying policy recommended by the district's young people.

Bradford's Young People's Scrutiny Commission came up with suggestions to tackle bullying after it was highlighted by the Youth Commission as being the main issue of concern among young people.

Commission chairman Councillor Andrew Thornton said the group was demanding that all district schools now re-consider their anti-bullying policies.

"I think it's something that does need to be done. There needs to be more openness about this. Where there's a problem we can get to the bottom of it," he said.

The Commission's report came about after a survey of young people in the city who listed bullying as their highest concern, followed by transport difficulties, the availability of advice and help for young people and places to socialise in Bradford.

Recommendations made by the Commission, which is made up of Bradford teenagers aged 14 to 19, were discussed by the Council's executive committee in June.

But there were delays in passing the recommendations, which had been due to be implemented by September this year, when the executive asked for the views of Bradford and Keighley Youth Parliament.

Phil Green, the Council's director of education, is now working on a series of plans to put them into place and the recommendations should be formalised early next year. Areas pinpointed for change included the development of an accredited scheme for all schools to test the effectiveness of existing anti-bullying policies. The Commission also agreed a new and comprehensive definition of bullying needed to be developed.

"Technology plays a part in bullying now," said Coun Thornton (Lab, Royds), who said mobile phones and text messages were increasingly a bullying tool.

Recommendations to develop a new anti-bullying policy throughout the district's schools and an audit of existing policy have also been made.

Coun Thornton backed Bradford's MPs' calls for a statutory rule that all schools log every report of bullying, as reported in the Telegraph & Argus this week.

Mr Green said he was in full support of schools signing up to the Government's Anti-bullying Charter following a call by Schools Minister Jacqui Smith in the T&A.

"We will be encouraging all schools in the Bradford district to sign up to the important Anti-bullying Charter, if they have not already done so.

l National Anti-Bullying week runs from November 21 to today.

All schools have been encouraged to take part in the event. Today school children are being encouraged to wear blue to show their support and solidarity

Blue wristbands are on sale on www.bluefriday.org.uk