POTHOLE reporting, accessing archives, borrowing from the library and contacting social services are among services to be made more accessible online thanks to a £3.1m funding windfall.

It is hoped the Government cash injection will make it easier for people to use taxpayer-funded services while helping to plug a £100m black hole in the county’s finances by 2017.

Under plans Hampshire County Council’s website will be redesigned so that more of the sort of enquiries currently answered over the phone or in person at offices can be done better online.

County council leader Roy Perry said: “It means we can now take forward plans which will enable us to use new digital technology to drive better services at lower cost, both across the county council and with our public service partners, including district councils, the police, the fire service, health and schools. Like many other organisations our systems and processes were formed before digital technology and before the web existed. Throughout the project we will be ensuring that Hampshire’s public services are both convenient and accessible.”

But Cllr Perry said that, although more people will be encouraged to use services online, traditional ways of accessing them, such as phoning or turning up, will still be possible.

The investment is part of the Transformation Challenge Award announced by local government minister Kris Hopkins as part of a raft of funding nationally totalling £89.4m.