Worried that someone you know is being harmed or neglected?

Support for victims and carers

What is advocacy?

Advocacy in all its forms seeks to ensure that people, particularly those who are most vulnerable in society, are able to:

Have their voice heard on issues that are important to them
Defend and safeguard their rights
Have their views and wishes genuinely considered when decisions re being made about their lives

Advocacy is a process of supporting and enabling people to:

Express their views and concerns
Access information and services
Defend and promote their rights and responsibilities
Explore choices and options

The Care Act says that the Council is responsible in some circumstances to provide independent advocacy to help people who have substantial difficulty saying what they want to say.

Who can act as an independent advocate?

An Independent Advocate must be suitably experienced and qualified and most importantly have the ability to work independently of the Council, and/or its partners. The independent advocate must not be someone who is paid to provide care or treatment for the person or an organisation that is paid by the council to carry out assessments, care and support plans or reviews.

Can a friend or relative be an advocate?

If there is an appropriate individual the person trusts to help them say what is important to them and who knows their wishes they can choose for them to be their advocate. That person cannot be someone they pay to provide their care or treatment or who supports them professionally e.g. their social worker.

All adults ages 18+ with an appearance of need for Care and Support
Who would have substantial difficulty in being involved in their assessment; preparation of care & support plan and / or review
Who are subject to a Safeguarding enquiry or Review (SAR)
and where there is no other appropriate individual to support them