A new forum is to be created to give a voice to parents of children with special educational needs.

It is hoped the new organisation will replace Bradford's Parents Link which folded last year because of a lack of funding.

Parents Link was run to help parents of disabled children and those with special educational needs.

It employed its own project officer who was paid by the Government's children's fund.

However, the service closed last week after its funding was halved, meaning it could no longer afford to run the post.

Now Councillor Carol Beard-more (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) wants to create a new parents' forum to replace it.

Education bosses are planning a radical overhaul of special-needs education in Bradford which will see ten schools in the district close to be replaced by six new developments. Planning applications for the new schools will be submitted this year.

However, Coun Beardmore said it was vital that parents had a say in the process as the schools were being created.

She said without Parents Link their voices will not be heard.

Now she has called on Bradford Council to help create a parents' forum immediately.

Coun Beardmore has written to the authority's director of education Phil Green to volunteer to help set the group up.

She said: "Historically Par-ents Link has been the forum for parents of children with special and special educational needs. They were used as a consultation tool and as an organisation they were able to avoid barriers between education as an authority and the parents.

"At present there is no strong link between Bradford Council and the parents of children with special needs and special educational needs. It is imperative that this link does not break while the special educational needs review and the special schools review is ongoing. Parents' continued involvement at every level is paramount to ensure their views are taken into account at every step."

The special educational needs review will see ten special needs schools close to be replaced with six new centres, with three primary and three secondary co-located on mainstream sites.

Coun Beardmore has an adult daughter with Down Syndrome, and she runs SNOOP in Greengates, an after-school club for children with special needs.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "We agree with Coun Beardmore that a great deal of good work has been achieved by Parents Link and are equally saddened by its demise.

"We feel there is a need to maintain links between parents of children with special needs.

"A communication focus group was set up at the beginning of the Special Schools Reorganisation which is proposing to set up a parents' forum."