BOLTON council's influential "cabinet" meets in public for the first time on Monday.

The decision to throw open the doors of the group of leading Labour councillors -- now re-named the executive -- came after a vigorous campaign led by the BEN.

The cabinet was an integral part of the introduction in May of a new system of running the council which largely swept away the traditional idea of committees overseeing individual council services.

Ten powerful councillors met behind closed doors with no advanced agendas published and only stark minutes released two days later. Reporters and even opposition members were barred from entry. But last month the ruling Labour group admitted the credibility of the system was being undermined by perceptions of secrecy.

The controlling party always stressed that no actual decisions were taken in the closed meetings.

Cllr Michael Kilcoyne, the executive member in charge of modernisation, said: "The issue was so dominating the agenda that it needed to be sorted and having done that we can turn our attention to other areas."

Four Tory councillors and three Liberal Democrats will be able to attend the meeting on Monday but they will still not be allowed to vote. The changes have been broadly welcomed by councillors of all parties.

The executive meeting takes place at 3pm in the Lancaster Suite on the first floor of the town hall and, in a break with tradition, a BEN photographer will be admitted.

Among the items to be discussed are Bolton's environmental strategy 2000-2005 and an update on the council's budget settlement from the Government which will affect the size of council tax bills next year.

Executive member meetings, where key decisions can be delegated to the individual councillors responsible for service areas such as housing, environment and leisure, will continue to be held in private.