British cities will be able to bid to become a national capital of culture by 2013, according to culture secretary Andy Burnham.

It is hoped that the scheme will provide an opportunity to place arts and culture at the heart of urban regeneration across the UK, and has been influenced by the success of Liverpool's status as Europe's capital of culture for 2008. Burnham told MPs that a working group, headed by the chair of Liverpool capital of culture Phil Redmond, has already been established to determine how the initiative can be best implemented, while also determining how the bidding process will work.

He said: "The UK city of culture proposal has real potential, as we saw in Liverpool last year when there was an £800m boost to regional economy. More than anything, the association with culture gave the whole city a lift and brought some real civic pride to Liverpool. "We will pursue this proposal carefully, but we believe that it has real potential for areas all around the country, not just for the larger cities."

Due to the fact that British cities can only compete for European capital of culture status every 20 years, it is expected that the UK competition will operate on a four-year cycle, delivering the same benefits and providing cities with the opportunity to host a range of events normally staged in London.