BURY is bidding to become one of the country's first "super councils".

Town hall bosses hope that their track record will persuade the Government to award the borough beacon council status.

If successful, Bury will be among the few to show the nation how best to run services.

Ultimately, the council could be given extra powers to raise taxes and try out new projects.

The Government will award beacon status to up to 40 councils in the first year. Those chosen will have a track record in one of these areas: preventing town centre crime; raising school standards; improving housing maintenance; speeding up planning and benefits decisions; and helping people who are leaving care.

Council leader Derek Boden said he believed that Bury was "a serious contender" for beacon status and was confident that Bury's case would not suffer from a damning report last year into the social services department, which was criticised for poor management while it ran up a £3 million overspend.

"We received cogent criticism on social services but we impressed the District Auditor and the inspectorate in the way we responded," he said. "It's not something we need to be defensive about."

The Government will ask councils to make a formal bid in April. Those chosen will be invited to teach fellow councils at open days and conferences, encouraged to innovate, and become centres of excellence in certain areas.

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