An £8 million scheme to help eradicate child poverty in Bradford was being unveiled today.

Bradford has been chosen by the Government to be part of a national pilot programme and will receive one of the largest amounts of cash in the country because of its high numbers of needy and vulnerable children.

Money allocated from the Children's Fund will be used to improve the lives of nearly 64,000 youngsters aged between five and 13.

Over the next three years, the scheme aims to:

l Reduce truancy and exclusion from school and improve educational performance;

l Reduce youth crime and convictions;

l Improve health and social care;

l Improve access to services by excluded and vulnerable groups and increase participation of children and young people in decision making.

Today, Councillor Kris Hopkins, Bradford Council's executive member for health and housing, said: "This is good news for Bradford children and the city.

"We will make sure that this investment gets to the people who need it most and fits with all the other efforts being made to help children in the district.

"It is especially pleasing to hear that the children themselves are being consulted in order to shape this partnership."

Bradford is one of 40 local authorities selected across the country for the first wave of funding - worth a total of £450 million - and will receive £2.7 million each year, for the next three years.

Other areas to receive funding include Leeds, which gets £2.6 million a year, Liverpool which gets £2.8 million, Newcastle which gets £1.2m and Sheffield which gets £1.9 million. The fund was set up as part of the Government's strategy to tackle child poverty and social exclusion.

It will form a key part of a range of measures to ensure that vulnerable children get the best start in life, remain on track in their early years, flourish in secondary school and choose to stay on in education and training at 16.

The money will be delivered through a wide range of partners, such as social services, health, community and voluntary groups and education services, who will work together to provide preventative services that will be shaped and influenced by young people, their families and communities.

Bradford's Children's Fund programme manager, Vivienne Walters, said: "We are working on trying to make sure that it is the young people who lead the projects. That is the innovative part of this funding.

"It is all about raising children's expectations about the quality of life they lead."

This will be done by engaging the children in a series of events such as holiday schemes, respite crisis support for families and also more innovative schemes which will be suggested by the children themselves.

A consultation programme was starting today at Odsal Stadium in Bradford where children were invited to take part in fun activities and talk about what they would like to see the Children's Fund doing for them.

It was also attended by five-year-old Riane Brown who designed the Children's Fund Bradford logo, which features a clown.

She received a prize for her work from Chantel Patrick, Great Britain International Women's Rugby League Player and a member of Bradford Bulls Development Team.