Bradford Council is likely to change its grants system - following protests from voluntary groups across the district.

Dozens of organisations have shut down or reduced their services after they failed to win the cash they wanted from the Council last year.

Thousands of people signed petitions and a major demonstration was held in Centenary Square.

The Council adopted a new points system giving the groups forms to fill in about their management, services and aims.

Now the Council plans to amend the process after a big consultation exercise with the voluntary groups.

Community grants officer Philip Baldwin will recommend next week's community development committee to change the plan to try to simplify the applications.

His recommendations include:

lsetting a separate and simpler process for groups applying for grants of under £10,000. It would do away with the complicated form-filling process which they struggled with last time;

llooking at last year's controversial policy of putting a ceiling for the first time on grants going to organisations which had already been funded previously;

lgiving guidance to groups before they make applications about the services the Council regards as priority.

Deb Collett, secretary of the Bradford Community branch of the Manufacturing, Scientific and Financial Union welcomed the review.

But she added: "The Council must take into account the quality of the services, which it did not last time."

Committee chairman Councillor Ralph Berry said: "There was a great deal of disquiet about the awards last time. There have been a lot of discussion and we have taken heed of what people said."

But Liberal Democrat Coun Howard Middleton said: "We were concerned all along that the criteria used last year were too rigid and unfair.''

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