COMPLAINTS against Torfaen council fell 40 per cent in the last year, figures show.

The number of grievances against the local authority dropped to 191 in 2014/15, according to a Torfaen cabinet report.

The number of service complaints made to the Ombudsman increased from 21 to 26 though none of these were investigated, the corporate complaints annual report states.

Torfaen council said in the Cabinet report the increase appeared to be in line with other public bodies.

Today, neighbourhoods cabinet member John Cunningham suggested abandoned phone calls could have had an impact on the overall number of complaints and council leader Bob Wellington asked for a seminar on the issue.

The report also reveals that 91 per cent of complaints were met with an initial response in 14/15 though this was below the 95 per cent target agreed for Torfaen council.

The largest factor for the reduction in the number of grievances was in relation to Welsh language complaints, the report states.

There was also a decrease in the number of complaints regarding customer service issues and other notable reductions were seen in neighbourhood services and strategic services.

Complaints against councillors were not covered in the report and they are dealt with separately by Torfaen council ethics and standards committee.