A culture of secrecy operated by the board of a Bradford regeneration project came under fire from councillors last night.

A report has been compiled by Bradford Council showing which meetings of publicly-funded organisations are open to the public and how easy it is to get information.

The report reveals that the Manningham and Girlington Single Regeneration Partnership, which has a budget of £9.7 million, holds meetings behind closed doors and does not release minutes.

Councillor Chris Greaves (Con, Rombalds), a member of the Council's corporate overview and scrutiny committee which considered the report, criticised its secrecy.

"Manningham and Girlington SRB board meetings are closed to the public," he said. "It spends thousands of pounds of public money and it is keeping all the details hidden, which I find appalling."

He called for the list - which includes details of hospital trusts, educational bodies and community associations - to be made into a league table to shame bodies which kept information secret.

Manningham and Girlington SRB has been examined by the Council's internal auditors after complaints and information has been passed on to the police.

The fraud squad is examining the information and will decide whether further investigation is necessary.

Council officers said the report had already had a positive effect by alerting groups to the Freedom of Information Act which comes into force later this year.

Andrew Pitts (Lab, Heaton) called for sanctions to be placed on the groups to set certain rules about openness.

Councillor Colin Gill (Con, Bingley) agreed the list showed a "gross democratic deficit" but rejected the idea of sanctions.

"We need to encourage these organisations to open up," he said. "We are in effect sent here by the community to keep an eye on them."

They agreed that a further report on progress be brought back in 12 months' time and urged councillors who sit on external groups to encourage transparency.