Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

Requirements for a person to be an independent advocate

2.—(1) A local authority must not make arrangements for a person to be an independent advocate under section 67(2) of the Act unless the authority is satisfied that the person—
(a) has appropriate experience;
(b) has undertaken appropriate training;
(c) is competent to represent and support the individual for the purpose of facilitating that individual’s involvement in any assessment and planning function;
(d) has integrity and is of good character; and
(e) has arrangements in place to receive appropriate supervision.

(2) A local authority must not make arrangements for a person to be an independent advocate under section 67(2) of the Act where that person is engaged in providing care or treatment in a professional capacity, or for remuneration—
(a) for the individual to whom representation and support are to be made available; or
(b) for—
(i) that individual’s carer, where the individual is an adult with care and support needs; or
(ii) the adult in respect of whom that individual is providing care, where the individual is a carer.

(3) The requirements that must be met for a person to be independent for the purposes of section 67(2) of the Act are that—
(a) the local authority is satisfied that the person demonstrates the ability to act independently of the local authority; and
(b) the person is not employed by, or otherwise working for, the local authority.