AN independent root-and-branch investigation is taking place into Worcestershire County Council - in a bid to see how the authority is faring.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, who took over as its new leader in January, has asked outside experts to review County Hall's ways of working to get an outside opinion on it.

The move, called a 'peer review', is a powerful tool to open up a council to voluntary independent scrutiny.

Councillor Geraghty has already pledged to publish the end report into its findings, saying he wants the public to see what the verdict is.

Clare Marchant, the chief executive, has said she wants the findings to be made "very visible".

The work is being led by the chief executive of Suffolk County Council Deborah Cadman and also involves the leader of Surrey County Council, David Hodge.

Councillor Hodge spent some time watching a meeting of the council's main scrutiny board last week as part of the review.

Mrs Cadman will be tasked with delivering the findings.

There is no obligation on councils to make their peer review findings public, with the Local Government Association (LGA) saying more than 200 authorities have opted to do one since 2011.

But Councillor Geraghty says he intends to make this one public property - even if the findings are critical.

"It's really a process to help us reflect on what's going well in the organisation and what can be done to help us," he said.

"It's a learning opportunity - I'll want to see the report when it's done, I'd want it to be published so the public can see it, and we'd want to track it.

"The last peer review helped guide us, challenge us on where we can do better."

The last time bosses at County Hall opened the authority up to a peer review was in 2012, which led to a return visit in 2013.

But in June last year it did reveal that a specific peer review had taken place into its child protection services, opting to voluntary publish the conclusions.

That piece of work flagged up several concerns around children's social care, saying for too many children on the borderline of becoming looked-after the hunt for "alternative options was not robust or consistent".

It also warned that some social workers had workloads which were too big and suggested crucial work was "often compromised" due to "inexperience or high workloads" - something the council has focused on relentlessly since.

Peer reviews are not formal inspections.