A SENIOR officer at Worcestershire County Council has welcomed the new era of scrutiny sweeping the authority.

Head of finance at the council, Mike Weaver, told a meeting of the scrutiny steering group - which is co-ordinating the new system of analysis - that he valued the expertise and experience councillors can contribute.

He was reacting to a question from Councillor Bob Bullock who queried the benefit of having "laymen" councillors assessing decisions.

"As a senior manager do you feel uneasy being scrutinised by laymen who have no real knowledge? Wouldn't you be much better served by two people, the leader of the council and the cabinet member, than a panel who need to find out what you do before scrutinising it?" asked Coun Bullock.

"I'm already held to account by the leader, the cabinet and the chief executive but I would never underestimate the ability of councillors to play their part," replied Mr Weaver.

"I can get so close to the detail of a matter that the obvious points are missed. Councillors can act like the constructively critical friend who asks 'why?', 'why not?', 'why have we always done things like that?'

"I don't feel that holding me to account through the executive is entirely the way to go. We certainly value the breadth of experience that all members of the council have."

At yesterday's meeting the steering group, made up of the chairmen and vice-chairmen from the six scrutiny panels, confirmed the subjects that will be assessed.

The panels - shadowing cabinet work on education, resources, environment, social services, health and specific issues - confirmed they will look at a variety of subjects, including the possible installation of sprinklers in schools, high levels of cancelled hospital operations and improving facilities for disabled people.