Independent Advocacy Social Care Fund: form and guidance

Background

Definition of independent advocacy

For the purpose of this fund, ‘advocacy services’ means services of support and representation that are made available for the purpose of enabling the individual to whom they are provided to have as much control of, or capacity to influence, that individual’s care and welfare as is, in the circumstances, appropriate.

Advocacy services are ‘independent’ if the person providing them is not one of:

• the Scottish Ministers
• a local authority
• a health board constituted under section 2(1)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978

These definitions follow what is set out in the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, as passed.

This fund is for new collective, peer or citizen advocacy projects. 

Collective or group advocacy is when people with similar experiences support each other and work together to improve services and campaign for their rights.

Peer advocacy is when an advocate has similar life experiences to the person they are supporting, which can make it easier for the person to feel understood.

Citizen advocacy is when a volunteer uses their skills to support the person, helping them take part in their community.

Social care

Social care supports people with daily living so they can be as independent as possible. It can also help people who look after a family member or loved one, like an unpaid carer.

Social care support is about supporting people to:

• live independently
• be active citizens
• participate and contribute to our society
• maintain their dignity and human rights

As well as care home provision, social care can be provided in a person’s home or in the community. It can include a wide range of support to help people take part in activities and provide respite support for family and carers, including:

• personal care
• domestic assistance
• technology enabled care
• day services

Duties in relation to independent advocacy provision

This fund is an opportunity to provide independent advocacy. It helps people in relation to social care support who do not qualify for independent advocacy through existing statutory duties. This could include - but is not limited to - the elderly, unpaid carers, and people with a physical disability or chronic health condition.

There are some circumstances when independent advocacy must be provided, and projects to support people who fall into those categories will not be eligible for this fund. These include (but are not limited to) projects for:

• people with a mental health condition, learning disability, dementia and related conditions, as they have a right of access to independent advocacy through the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. This is for any issue relating to their care and welfare, not just to support people through statutory processes
• children and young people who can access an advocate in certain situations, for example, if they’re going to a Children’s Hearing
• people with experience of substance use who are receiving medication assisted treatment, as they should be able to access independent advocacy through MAT Standard 8

Rationale for the Independent Advocacy Social Care Fund

Independent advocacy helps people to make their voices heard, and has a positive role to play in relation to social care support.

During work on the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, independent advocacy was explored through co-design work with people with lived experience of accessing or delivering social care support. The importance and value of the different types of independent advocacy was a key finding from the co-design research. People highlighted that different types of independent advocacy and support exist, and that no approach will be right for everyone.

The Independent Advocacy Social Care Fund will test how the less common types of independent advocacy – collective, peer or citizen – can support people who need social care support. Monitoring and evaluation from these pilot projects will help inform the approach to future independent advocacy provision for people accessing social care support.

Fair Work First

Fair Work First is the Scottish Government's flagship policy for driving high quality and fair work, and workforce diversity across the labour market in Scotland. It applies fair work criteria to grants, other funding and public contracts being awarded by and across the public sector, where it is relevant to do so. Through this approach we are supporting employers who adopt fair working practices, specifically:

• payment of at least the real Living Wage (mandatory)
• provide appropriate channels for effective workers' voice, such as trade union recognition (mandatory)
• investment in workforce development
• no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts
• action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace
• offer flexible and family friendly working practices for all workers from day one of employment
• oppose the use of fire and rehire practice

The Fair Work First criteria seek to address particular challenges in Scotland's labour market, to make a real difference to people and their communities, business and other organisations and the economy.

National Performance Framework and Scottish Government’s priorities

Read more about the National Performance Framework. Outcomes and values include areas such as:

• fulfilling human rights
• empowering communities
• treating people with kindness, dignity and compassion

The four current Scottish Government priorities are:

• tackling child poverty
• growing the economy
• tackling the climate emergency
• ensuring high quality and sustainable public services

Read more about these priorities for Government in the Programme for Government for 2024-2025.