THE COUNCIL’S website is sending older people around in circles, Swindon’s former mayor said.

It came as councillors debated Swindon Borough Council’s new communications strategy.

Maureen Penny, a ward councillor for Highworth, said: “On the doorsteps where I live and where there are an awful lot of older people, the big complaints I get are, if you go on the website it leads you round in circles until you get fed up looking. That’s the ones that can get on the website.

“The ones who can’t get on the website have to phone up just sit, wait and give up.

“It’s alright having a strategy around communications, but if people can’t talk to you the whole thing’s wasted.”

Responding to the concerns, council leader David Renard said: “That’s a fair point and I think we’ve all had complaints.

“It’s quite clear that our digital platform is not yet where it should be. We’ve got to make this shift away from 8.5 per cent of enquiries coming through online to the 85 per cent we need to see.

“We certainly don’t want people ringing up and holding on the line. We want them if at all possible to do their business through the online service. The quicker we can make that shift the better.”

However, there was praise for the council’s off-beat approach on social media. Coun Jim Robbins called the borough’s approach to Twitter and Facebook over the recent local elections. He branded the use of animated videos to promote the voter ID pilot scheme a sea-change.