Help the LGO

In the nature of a guest blog, although the LGO didn't ask for one, they were volunteered and it is volunteers they are looking for.

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Dear Sir / Madam

At LGO we constantly seek to improve the service we provide and want to ensure that any changes are informed by the experiences of people that have used our service. To help us in this we established an advisory forum to provide us with challenge, insight and feedback on our service. We hold meetings of the forum three times a year in our headquarters in Coventry, although we occasionally ask for views outside of those meetings through email and online surveys.

The group mainly consists of members of the public that have recently used our service. It also includes representatives of the bodies in our jurisdiction who handle complaints and a range of people that act as advocates for the public, such as advisory bodies, MPs and councillors. The forum offers a channel to provide feedback on the user experience directly to me and to my senior team. You can take a look at the notes from the meetings we have previously held on our website.

We would like to invite new members to the forum and encourage you to be involved in this important work that allows us to draw upon the experiences of people who have brought a complaint to LGO to improve the service we provide to others in the future. Whilst this is a voluntary role we will offer travel expenses for attendance at the meetings.

The first meeting will take place towards the end of November 2014.

If you would be interested in joining this forum please send us a short statement, of no more than 500 words, explaining why you would like to be involved and details of any other relevant experience you have. Please send this by email to advisoryforum@lgo.org.uk or by post to Advisory Forum, Local Government Ombudsman, PO BOX 4471, Coventry, CV4 0EH. The closing date for expressions of interest is Friday 17th October 2014.

If you would prefer to provide your statement over the telephone please call our advice line on 0300 061 0614 and we will arrange for someone to speak with you.

Decisions on who will be appointed to the forum will be based solely upon the statement. No interviews or other selection procedures will take place. Should you need any further information about the Forum please use the same email as above.

Please note: We are not able to respond to any specific issues about individual complaints you raise through your application. Correspondence to the email or postal address above will be treated as expression of your interest in the forum only.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Dr Jane Martin

Local Government Ombudsman

Chair, Commission for Local Administration