AN investigation into Ammanford Town Council by the National Ombudsman of Wales has found them guilty of maladministration.

A complaint about the Council's failure to publish minutes of its meetings and publish their complaints policy was made to the body.

The investigation found that the Council's failure to publish the reports amounted to maladministration.

As a result, they have been instructed by the Ombudsman to apologise in writing to the complainant and provide a £250 payment as way of a redress.

The report published by the Ombudsman, said: "The Council, until very recently, displayed a concerning lack of responsibility for its legislative obligations to improve public engagement.

"I consider that the Council's failure to comply with its statutory responsibilities amounts to maladministration.

"This was an injustice to both the complainant and the wider local community as they were left without adequate information about the activities of their elected representatives."

Ammanford Town Council's response to the complaint was also published in the report.

It said: "The Interim Clerk said that the investigator's email of February 4 was redirected as a spam email and to ensure no repetition she now receives a daily report of these emails.

"The Council apologised that it only became aware of the complaint after the Investigator's email that attached a copy of the draft report.

"It said that had it known of the complaint it would have responded earlier.

"The Council now has a dedicated telephone number and an active website."

The Ombudsman recommended that within one month of the report being published the Council write to the complainant apologising for the lack of minutes, and that it makes a redress payment of £250.