Staff at Swindon Borough Council, especially those who have direct dealings with the public should get more training on how to interact sensitively with people who are on the autistic spectrum.

A report to the authority’s health and wellbeing board by officer Kay Reeve said that along with all other council, Swindon had been asked to monitor and rate itself on how well it worked with and for people with autistic spectrum conditions.

Ms Reeve said: “We found that one strength is a good training offer on autism, but a weakness is that we couldn’t quantify which staff had received that training by role and area. “We have put into the strategy that public facing areas receive a level of advanced training about how to deal with people with autism.”

The council has put together an autism self-assessment improvement plan to ensure those with the condition find it easier to get support.

Included in the plan is that appropriate adults, who help people in custody and places of safety, will also have training in autism awareness.