One of our first decisions, when we became the administration in June 2001, was to announce a new constitution for the Highways Partnership Forums in Worcestershire.

Under the previous Liberal/Labour administration they chose to introduce Highways Partnership Units in each of the 6 district areas in Worcestershire. However, they met in secret and were very contentious meetings. We have introduced a county review shortly after taking control last July and have now implemented a new terms of reference for these groups.

At a glance, we agreed with the HPU concept that they are advisory Forums, we agreed that they be given a small works capital, we have introduced OPEN meetings for members of the press and public and we have introduced an increase in staffing levels to help with the back log of complaints and work, together with the introduction of Best Value for delivering Highways Maintenance.

We have agreed to keep the forums in their current format and review their working again under the new rules in 12 months time. No longer will the secretive side of local government prevail in Worcestershire we intend to open the council up for public scrutiny.