PEOPLE across East Lancashire are set to benefit from a one stop hotline offering information on county and borough council services.

And a new central call-centre with just one phone number is to be created where staff will be able to direct people to the relevant department within seconds.

The project aims to provide easier access to council services and will involve all borough councils as well as Lancashire County Council.

The idea has sprung from the notion that people are often unaware of which council provides which services and end up either visiting several buildings or making many phone calls before getting the department they want.

An as-yet undetermined number of shops are due to open across Lancashire as part of the scheme, though exact locations are still being considered.

In some towns, it could mean new buildings, in others, it could be new areas within existing council facilities such as libraries and tourist information centres.

A computer system linking all new shops to the call centre and councils is also being established.

Existing staff used in frontline services - such as county information centres - will be retrained in answering questions over the telephone and helping customers find their way through a maze of council departments.

Around 60 staff will be needed for the call centre and 200 for the shops as district councils come on board. But the scheme is not expected to create new positions as staff already employed are to be retrained.

Linda Whalley, Lancashire County Council's e-government manager, said: "We have met all the district councils and won agreement to proceed in principle."

The cost of the schemes will be met from the councils' e-government budgets, set up to help modernise local government and make services more accessible.

County council deputy leader Doreen Pollitt, said: "One call centre will deal with calls to district councils and the county council.

"Many people do not know who to approach, so staff will have to be trained to know precisely who to forward their calls to.

"There is computer software to help, but that has its own training requirements."