AN extra £6.5 million will be pumped into Bradford's Children's Services department - despite funding for other departments being cut.

On Thursday Bradford Council will decide on its budget for the coming year, which will likely include millions of pounds of cuts, hundreds of job losses and a 2.99 per cent rise in Council Tax.

But at a meeting of the Council's Executive today, bosses announced that millions would be pumped into Children's Services to improve the department, which was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted last year.

The one off investment would see £1.2 million made available for immediate improvements, with the remainder being ring fenced for future use. Part of the fund will be used to recruit new social workers.

Although the budget will see funding cut to a range of services, including to museums and libraries, substance misuse services and school nurses, the services that protect vulnerable children will be protected.

When the draft budget was revealed last year, the Council announced there would be an extra £5.5 million invested into children's social care and and £890,000 into special educational needs and disability support.

Hundreds of jobs to be cut, Council Tax to rise and services to be reduced as part of Bradford Council's latest budget

The authority needs to make £13.5 million in savings for 2019-20, as central government reduces the amount it provides local Councils to zero, with a further £19.9 million in savings needed in Bradford in 2020-21.

On the boost to children's services, Councillor Adrian Farley, Executive for Children and Families, said: "There can be no greater priority than investing in our children and young people and we're absolutely determined to deliver services that mean all children have the best possible start in life.

"The additional funding is about making sure we can provide support for the most vulnerable in our society. The funding will help us recruit more social workers and put the right systems in place to deliver the level of care children deserve."

Last year's Ofsted inspection cited the high caseloads of social workers as one of the reasons for the poor rating for the department.

Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe criticised the lack of funding for local Councils, pointing out that authorities now needed to rely on business rates and Council Tax to fund services. She said Bradford had the lowest Council Tax in West Yorkshire , adding: "It is not enough to rely on Council Tax. We think it is a regressive tax, the Government needs to make sure local services are funded to the right level.

"We have the lowest Council Tax in West Yorkshire, but we appreciate how hard it is for residents to pay increased Council Tax. But the financial statement says we need to extend our finances as much as we can. The government cuts are so severe that if we don't do this things will be unsustainable. We want to keep Council Tax at a managable level."