BURY Council could get a £4.1 million windfall if it hits targets to improve services.

The local authority has signed a Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA), a package of performance targets agreed with the Government, which could bring big rewards.

The list is wide-ranging, moving from education and crime to housing benefits and elderly care. The 12 topics have been chosen to reflect a mixture of local and national priorities. These include: increasing pupils' performance at Key Stage 3 and educational attainment of children in care; reducing truancy, youth re-offending, and burglary rates.

Also included are targets to reduce road injuries, help old people live independently, improve cost-effectiveness, and recruit more young library members. Other plans comprise increasing the number of primary school children taking part in sport for at least two hours a week; reducing incidents of young people causing annoyance; and cutting the time taken to process new housing benefit claims.

The council will receive a reward of £4.1 million if it meets all its targets. In addition, £933,000 of "pump-priming" grant, along with the council's own resources, will help to pay for more classroom assistants, counsellors and education welfare officers; help for repeat victims of burglary; driver training; books and equipment for after-school clubs; more youth offending team officers and play zones; and more benefit claims assessors.

The PSA was signed by local government minister Nick Raynsford, Bury Council leader John Byrne, and council chief executive Mark Sanders.

Cllr Byrne said: "Signing this agreement with the Government underlines the commitment that the council has to provide the best possible services to all the people of Bury.

"We consistently strive to improve our services and entering into this partnership will give us valuable additional resources as well as increased flexibility to deliver the kind and quality of services that people in Bury really want. This has to be great news for the borough and I was delighted to put pen to paper on our behalf."