Leeds education authority is to have all its school support services transferred to a public-private partnership.

After a critical inspection report in February, consultants sent into the authority by the government have now recommended that education support services should no longer be run by the council.

Instead they will be taken over by a joint venture, with the local authority and a private partner working on a contract to improve services to schools.

The proposals, accepted by the School Standards Minister Estelle Morris, will mean that education authority staff will now be employed by the new company.

The Department for Education has an "approved list" of companies from which the external partner will be drawn.

"This is a radical and innovative solution to address the serious weaknesses which were identified in the recent Ofsted report on the local education authority," said Estelle Morris.

"This is further evidence of the importance of acting decisively when it is clear that an authority's services to its schools need fundamental and rapid improvement."

The inspection report had been particularly damning, with problems in nursery, primary and secondary sectors.

There were criticisms of how the authority monitored schools, its support for those causing concern and its support for ethnic minority pupils.

Council leader Brian Walker supported the joint venture proposals and emphasised the importance of the raising standards in Leeds schools. "Nothing must be allowed to detract from that," he said.

The decision to take away the local authority's school support services is the latest in a series of privatisations following critical inspection reports.

In London, the boroughs of Hackney and Islington have both had private companies taking over the running of services.