ELEVEN North West councils have been asked to bid for more than £50m to help deprived children.

Blackburn with Darwen can get up to £2.7m if it can devise suitable schemes, while Lancashire has a maximum allocation of £12million.

In total the North West is to get £51.9m over three years, out of a total from the Children's Fund of £450m being spread between 40 councils across England.

The cash is aimed at children aged five to 13. The sort of schemes ministers are looking to be prepared include out-of-school activities for children most likely to be tempted into crime, and getting role models to talk to young people threatened by criminal activity, drugs, or poor sexual health.

Other potential schemes include support for parents, including parenting courses run by the voluntary sector, support at home for parent volunteers, and drop in centres where parents can talk to each other.

The new fund is a major plank of the Government's crusade to reduce child poverty and tackle social exclusion.

Chief executives of chosen authorities are being asked today (Tuesday) to support community partnerships, to identify gaps in existing services and to draw up proposals for new projects to fill them.