More than 60 complaints were made against Swindon Borough Council to the government watchdog over 2018-19.

And the Local Government Ombudsman upheld seven of them.

Three were made about education and children’s services, one about adult social care, two on environmental services and one on benefits and tax.

One complaint upheld by the watchdog was about the failure of the council to provide a care plan for a child moving from children’s to adults’ services.

Another was a support worker giving a person poor advice meaning they were not in receipt of payments they were entitled to for several weeks.

The report says: “This had not caused any significant injustice. The support worker worked for a Swindon homeless charity and therefore was not employed by the council.

"However, when a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf, it remains responsible for those services and the actions of the organisation providing them.

"To remedy this complaint, the council paid the recommended sum of £500 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused.”

The council paid £250 to someone unhappy about the information available about making a complaint.

Since then the authority’s procedures have been updated and the ombudsman is satisfied with the changes.

Other complaints include issues with missing recycling collections, no response being given to a complaint and the failure of the council to stop taking money direct from a claimant’s wages who was paying back an over- payment.

The council had paid back the money it took in error in full and paid £200 in compensation.

The total number of complaints made against Swindon Borough Council is not unusual and compares well with immediate neighbouring authorities – 103 were made against Wiltshire Council, and 66 to Gloucestershire County Council.

Borough council deputy leader Russell Holland told Conservative cabinet colleagues: “We compare very favourably with other authorities in the number of complaints we receive, but where there have been complaints, we take them very seriously.”

The cabinet member for adults’ services, Brian Ford said: “One complaint is one too many and I emphasise we investigate every one thoroughly.”.

There was only one case where a remedy was recommended by the ombudsman, and that was complied with in time.

Councillor Oliver Donachie said: “It might be only one instance, but it’s good to see a 100 per cent compliance rate. I think that should be noted.”