Worcestershire County Council has decided there is little to suggest Bromsgrove residents do not get value for money on highways issues.

The council's overview and scrutiny steering committee (OSSC) investigated Bromsgrove's Highways Partnership Unit (HPU) following complaints from district councillors.

A notice of motion was tabled at a full council meeting on September 22 asking for the HPU to be looked into.

But the scrutiny committee reported back to cabinet that any suggestions of a poor return from officers serving Bromsgrove compared to other units elsewhere in the county were unfounded.

The official OSSC finding was that "there is little evidence to suggest that Bromsgrove HPU is providing poor value for money compared with other HPUs in Worcestershire."

It was suggested, however, that the role of Highways Partnership Forums, which are made up of county and district councillors and inform and advise the units, may need clarifying.

Councillor John Buckley, chairman of the county council's scrutiny committee, said: "We feel members of the Highways Partnership Forum may be confused over the role they should play. And it's worth pointing out that the role of the forums is not to tell HPUs they want a new sign there and a street light here and expect it to be done.

"It would be very much appreciated if there were clearer guidelines for the forums as the way they operate varies across the county," he added.

HPUs were created when Worcestershire County Council was formed in 1998. The county council is the Highways Authority for the county, but the units were created in partnership with district councils drawing on local expertise.

Labour county and district councillor Peter McDonald, who originally tabled the motion, said it was wrong to compare partnerships.

"They could all be failing," he said.