BRADFORD Council and Leeds City Council have together secured almost £1million worth of funding to help ensure that children and families receive the "right help at the right time".

The two West Yorkshire cities have been awarded £991,816 of the Government’s Data Accelerator Fund, which will be used to improve how data is shared between local partners such as councils, NHS trusts and the police.

By sharing information across schools, health, housing, police and social care, frontline workers can get a better understanding of an individual family’s needs, and some of the challenges they may face, such as mental health issues, employment and substance abuse.

Local authorities can use this information to ensure that children and families receive tailored support as early as possible.

The Government’s Data Accelerator Fund is £7.9 million in total, and it will also support nine other data-sharing projects across England.

Funding for the data projects will run until 2023, and will be divided over two years.

Councillor Sue Duffy, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Children and Families, said: “As the youngest city in the UK, we are pleased to be part of this initiative with our sister city of Leeds. We feel our children will really benefit from it.

“Data, and the effective use of it, is a powerful tool to help us target support to the right families, at the right time, so we can better help them to thrive and succeed in life.

“This is a valuable opportunity to work more closely with partners to transform the services we deliver to vulnerable children and families.”

Councillor Fiona Venner, Leeds City Council’s Executive Member for Adult and Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships, said: “Our vision is for Leeds to be the best city for children to grow up in, and we are continuously looking for new ways to work with families to improve their lives.

"Improving data usage supports our commitment to outstanding practice, ensuring we have the right conversations, at the right time.

"I’m looking forward to seeing this project progress, and I’m confident it will have some fantastic outcomes.”