Practitioners are advised to regularly view the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman web sites for England, Scotland and Wales. These can be found at:-

• England: http://www.lgo.org.uk/.
• Scotland: http://www.spso.org.uk/.
• Wales: http://www.ombudsman-wales.org.uk/.       

Through the web sites, practitioners can register to receive recent decisions on recent local taxation and benefits cases that have been considered by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. 

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has launched a new guide to help council benefits practitioners manage complex council tax reduction (CTR) enquiries and complaints. This can be found at
https://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/news/2019/aug/new-guidance-launched-for-council-tax-practitioners.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has issued new guidance on effective complaint handling for local authorities. This can be found at
https://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/news/2020/oct/new-complaints-handling-guide-offers-advice-to-local-authorities.

Frequently asked questions about complaining to the Local Government Ombudsman and challenging the Ombudsman’s decision can be found at
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/local-government-and-social-care-ombudsman/.

The Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22 of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can be found at
 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-and-social-care-ombudsman-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=7b230532-f3aa-42cc-a876-b3fa98e75d43&utm_content=daily.

The Winter 2022 Newsletter of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can be found at https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/UKLGO-339290b?wgt_ref=UKLGO_WIDGET_1.

A report on ‘Billing confusion prompts Barnet bailiff action’ published on 3 May 2023 can be found at
https://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/news/2023/may/billing-confusion-prompts-barnet-bailiff-action.