IT'S good news for council tax payers as well as local jobs and services.

That's the early verdict from town hall bosses after Bury was handed a better financial deal by the Government.

Council leader Derek Boden described the provisional settlement for next year, announced late yesterday, November 25, as "encouraging".

The council has been given a 4.8 per cent increase in its SSA (Standard Spending Assessment, or how much the Government thinks Bury should spend) to nearly £143 million.

This is the biggest increase in Greater Manchester, and much larger than many other authorities.

"That's good news," he said. "You could argue that that shows the representations we have made have paid off.

"What we don't know yet is the exact effect on council tax and services, because the Government has transferred more grants from the general pot to specific areas in education and social services. There's a lot of work to be done to see what the implications are."

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