A COUNCIL is so badly organised it took 109 days to respond to an inquiry from a local authority watchdog.

Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin, has slammed Greenwich Council for its slow responses to her inquiries regarding resident complaints.

Councils are supposed to reply to inquiries from ombudsmen within 28 days but Greenwich's average response time was almost double at 51.4 days, with one taking a shocking 109 days.

In her annual report for the 2009/10 financial year, Dr Martin said response times to inquiries over housing complaints she had received from the public were particularly poor.

"Last year, we raised particular concerns about your response times on housing complaints, which was 59 days," she said.

"Similar to last year, nine responses took over 60 days or more, four of those took over 70 days. Only two of the 18 responses were received within the requested 28 days.

"We remain concerned about the performance of your council here.

"These delays continue to reflect badly on the council, because they delay resolution of complaints."

One inquiry made over an education complaint was not acknowledged until 109 days later. Dr Martin has now suggested her assistant meets with relevant council staff to resolve the problem.

News Shopper has contacted Greenwich Council for a response on this issue, and is awaiting a reply.