THE workings of Worcestershire's political scene will become much clearer to the public following a massive shake-up of the way the county council is run.

By May next year, a new cabinet-style structure will be firmly in place, affecting health, education, social services and the environment.

Councillors, already working under the new system, have vowed to make its workings more accessible to voters.

From now, the leader of the council will have to tell the public which key decisions the 10-strong cabinet is likely to take in the next four months.

The so-called Forward Plan will also include details of how and with whom consultation will take place, when the decision will be taken and the documents the executive will consult.

Chief executive Rob Sykes, speaking at yesterday's executive board meeting, vowed to hold as many meetings in public as possible.

"The panels will be in open session - this will be an open council," he said.

"We would've lost out if this had been brought in in a bureaucratic way. We want to get it into the newspapers where there are contentious items up for discussions.

"We do intend to make a serious attempt to tell people what business is coming up."

Liberal Democrat leader Coun Tom Wells, who is on the executive committee, welcomed the move, saying: "We could do an awful lot more to encourage public participation.

"It's better to ask them first rather than field complaints afterwards. They need to see the committee structures, warts and all."

The new cabinet will consist of 10 members, down from the present 13, five of whom will be from the ruling Tory party.

They will hold the key 'portfolio' holder' positions of leader, education, social services, economic development/environment, and resources/community/cultural.

The further five places will be made up of members of the other political parties.

These will be two Labour, and one each for Liberal, Independent and Kidderminster Health groups.

Under the new plans, which must be sent to central Government this week, the cabinet will make key decisions on Worcestershire's education, health, social services, economic development, regeneration, culture and community services.

A handful of overview and scrutiny panels then have five days to challenge any decision made by the executive they believe is unlawful.

The full council then has to rubber-stamp the outcome.