WORCESTERSHIRE people are for the first time being given the chance to vote on which council policies and decisions they want to see investigated.

In a radical new move, Worcestershire County Council's watchdog scrutiny committee is calling on people to vote on which particular policy areas it should look into over coming 12 months.

A shortlist of ideas has already been drawn up, ranging from climate change and obesity to school transport and school governance.

The committee is a cross-party group of councillors whose job it is to keep an eye on what the administration gets up to.

Its investigation last year into the planned closure of the popular Llanrug Outdoor Activity Centre in Snowdonia led directly to that decision being reversed by the county's Tory leadership.

The committee is chaired by Gorse Hill and Warndon representative Councillor John Buckley, who said: "The role of the scrutiny committee is to make sure all our decisions are in the best interests of our residents. It's vital that we know what is important to people in our community so we can make all our work relevant to their needs.

"We value residents' opinions and are urging as many people as possible to take part in the vote and help us to focus on the services that matter the most to them in the coming months."

The shortlist of policies to investigate are: 1. School governance - what is the role of school governors, and how are they supported by the county council?

2. School transport - how is transport to school provided?

3. Worcestershire Hub - the Hub is a way to improve access to services provided by the county and other organisations.

How effectively is this being done?

4. Climate change - Its effects on Worcestershire, and how it relates to the council's priorities.

5. Obesity - what is being done in Worcestershire to tackle obesity, and are the right strategies are in place?

Residents have until Friday, March 7 to vote on the options by visiting the online poll at www.worcestershire.gov.uk, emailing scrutiny@worcestershire.gov.uk, or writing to The Scrutiny Team, Worcestershire County Council, County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5 2NP.