Bradford Festival will almost certainly get thousands of pounds of extra money from the Council after a red tape ping-pong game between two new committees.

Reorganised Bradford Council hit teething problems when the high-powered Executive Committee approved the Festival's application for extra funding, despite a sparse report from officers.

Concerns led to the Environment Scrutiny Committee calling the decision in for more information and considering it at its meeting last night.

But after being presented with new details on the Festival's finances, members approved it in principle, but referred it back to the Executive.

And scrutiny members agreed that officers should change their reports in line with the new workings.

Festival director Allan Brack said he was delighted the Council was supporting the Festival and Mela at a time when it was finding its feet in the new set-up. Festival Director Mark Fielding told the meeting that the fast growing event needed more cash to pay for health and safety requirements.

He told the committee that attendance had swelled from 20,000 in 1991 to 100,000 or more.

Executive member for culture, heritage and leisure Councillor Barry Thorne, who was asked by the scrutiny committee to explain the previous decision, said the festival would have to be reduced unless the Council could help it. "As we have embarked on the City of Culture bid I think we should go ahead," he said.

The committee agreed in principle to a one-off payment of £26,000 to meet the costs of last year's event. Members decided the festival should get payments of £48,000 this year and next year to cover the measures.

Payments of £30,000 a year would also be given towards new projects.

The Scrutiny Committee had the power to simply release the executive committee's decision for implementation. But members agreed it should go back to the executive for a decision based on the new information.

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