Unions campaigning to stop the transfer of Council buildings to external partners said today their battle would continue - even though the properties are unlikely to be sold outright.

The Council's Tory deputy leader Councillor Simon Cooke said the possibility of transferring the management and running of the centres to partners - with the authority still owning the properties - was likely to be the option they would consider.

But today officials of unions representing thousands of Council workers said there was "no difference" in the proposals and they still believed services would be worse and large numbers of jobs were under threat.

The Council's Labour group leader Councillor Ian Greenwood accused the Tory group - which put forward the proposals - of "bungling" and said management of the buildings should stay with the authority.

But Coun Cooke said: "Options are being looked at and everything is as it was. Selling the properties in an arrangement where they would be leased back to the Council could have been one of the things being considered all along. But it would have meant a lot of work and a time scale of about a couple of years.

"Transferring the management and running of the operational buildings is something we have been considering all along."

Coun Cooke said he would take a report on options to his group before an executive committee meeting on September 18 when a transfer would be considered.

But GMB Bradford branch secretary Terry Patten said the effect of a transfer of management rather than selling the building would make no difference.

"They are still thinking of a private partner who would be running services for commercial profit rather than a public service.

"We would still be looking at a transfer of workers - and jobs at risk," he added.