BUCKINGHAMSHIRE County Council this week signed a Public Service Agreement with the government which could bring in an extra £9 million to the county.

The county council along with district councils, health and the police will all play a part in hitting targets in areas such as exam results and cutting crime to try to secure the financial reward.

District councils could collect £1 million, with Wycombe getting £400,000. District councillors have welcomed the agreement.

But they will not get the one-off reward, for three years and then only if they deliver extra improvements in tough areas, such as exam results, road accidents, bus reliability and traffic congestion.

The deal is called a Public Service Agreement (PSA). Buckinghamshire will get £1.2 million up front to start things moving.

If it succeeds it will also be able to free itself from government red tape laying down precisely what it can and cannot do.

The 13 targets include one to raise exam pass rates. At the moment 63 per cent of Buckinghamshire pupils get five or more GCSE grades A to C . The county's existing target is 65 per cent and under the PSA councillors promise 66 per cent.

They also promise to provide more homes for people on low incomes; to cut vehicle crime by almost three per cent of the current target; to reduce congestion outside schools; to cut road deaths; to increase the number of children being adopted; to ensure that children in council care do better in exams; to improve the reliability of bus services; to increase the number of children in nursery schools and to increase the number of drug users taking part in drug rehabilitation programmes.

There will be special efforts in four deprived areas, including Marsh and Micklefield in High Wycombe and Pond Park in Chesham.

The councils have to prove that people are more involved in community organisations, for instance that children are taking part in projects outside schools and that adults are getting skills training.

Behind the PSA is the county council's Rebecca Cooper, who has spent months arguing with civil servants, who were determined this would be a challenge and not just provide the council with targets they would have hit anyway.

In schools, pump priming money will provide extra staff for lower achievers. Mrs Cooper won more extra money here to pay for five Advanced Skills Teachers, after wrangling with civil servants and appealing to the minister.

The target making it it easier for people to rent homes, includes a deposit guarantee. People often can't rent a home because they can't afford the deposit.