SOCIAL Services and housing in Swindon have been found wanting in more than a quarter of tasks in an official report.

And council officials have been called on to urgently investigate parts of its provision for children, the elderly and disabled people.

Housing and Social Services standards in Swindon are the subject of a new report by the Social Services Inspectorate. The document will be studied by the council's Housing, Social Services and Inclusion commission when it meets on Tuesday.

The report comes hot on the heels of a Government Ofsted report which found such serious failings in education provision in Swindon that it has brought in a special team to take over.

New council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawns) said that, as in education, a cross party task force was being set up to tackle social services and housing.

It will look at issues such as low government funding, which has affected education and also impinged on other services provided by the council.

But he stressed that the new report was not as bad as the Ofsted report, with about a quarter of housing and social services provision rated as below the national average, about a quarter above and the remainder simply average.

He added: "My gut feeling is that this report it obviously very disappointing, coming on the back of the Ofsted report.

"We have set up a working party similar to that set up to tackle the points raised in the Ofsted report. The working party will look at the report very carefully."

Neither the Ofsted report nor the Social Services Inspectorate report cover the period since Mr Bawden's administration took over the previous, Labour-dominated one.

Increasing the number of routine health checks for children in its care.

Increasing the number of disabled adults being helped to live at home.

Increasing the number elderly people helped to live at home.

Increasing the percentage of clients receiving a statement of their needs and how those needs will be met.

Reviews of child protection cases.

Working to make sure that children do not remain on the at-risk register for extended periods.

Placing children in care with foster parents.

Money spent on supporting families.

The stability of children looked after by the authority.