SCHOOLS in the North-East are to receive £12m to tackle the problem of unruly pupils who play truant and bully other children.

The cash is part of a £174m grant announced by Schools Minister Jacqui Smith aimed at cracking down on bad behaviour.

The money will enable more truancy sweeps where police and education welfare officers pick up pupils who should be in school.

It will also allow more schools to hire learning mentors, who can work alongside pupils to tackle bullying and improve attendance.

The Social Inclusion Pupil Support Standards Fund grant has risen by £43m compared with last year, according to Government figures.

Money will also enable off-site pupil referral units to provide full-time education and more teachers.

Schools in the North-East will receive £11,870,000, with an extra £322,000 going to authorities in Durham, Darlington and North-umberland towards secondary school learning support units.

The Minister said: "Our crackdown on truancy will continue at a pace with this significant investment. The increased funds for 2001-02 will allow schools and local authorities to set up more innovative projects to improve school attendance.''

Signs of success have already been seen, with a 67 per cent cut in youth crime in York since the Local Education Authority used Standards Fund money to launch a truancy watch scheme.