AN EXPERIMENT is set to engage the public more closely in the decisions of Hampshire County Council.

Area committees will be set up with the aim of taking the county council to the heart of local communities so decision-makers can better reflect the views and aspirations of the public.

The experiment, over the next year, will also give some members of the authority the power to scrutinise the county council's policies.

Membership of the area committees will be drawn from county councillors representing electoral divisions within the district and they will meet up to four times a year.

Initially, the committees will be run in the Test Valley and Havant areas, with the prospect of them operating elsewhere in Hampshire if the experiment is successful.

The county council is also to set up a policy and resources select committee, based on the Parliamentary select committee model. This will establish an annual programme of policy reviews and examine the policies and decisions of the county council based on oral and written evidence. It will have the power to call both internal and external witnesses.

Cllr Ken Thornber (pictured), leader of the county council, said: "The aim of area committees is to hear the views of local residents so that we have a clearer understanding of their concerns and can take them into account when reaching decisions.

"We also hope they will improve local residents' understanding of the scale of expenditure and range of services provided by the county council, which we believe are not as widely understood by the public as they could be."

He added the select committee would strengthen scrutiny arrangements on the county council, which it was hoped would see the authority retain its "excellent" status for a third time.