Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

Prospective

28 Independent advocacy S

(1) The Scottish Ministers must by regulations make provision about the provision, in relation to public social care services, of independent advocacy services.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) must include provision—

(a) setting standards applicable to independent advocacy services provided under or by virtue of the regulations, and

(b) for persons providing such services to comply with those standards (including a requirement for arrangements made by any public authority for the provision of independent advocacy services by another person to require such compliance by that other person).

(3) Standards set by virtue of subsection (2)(a) may, in particular, include provision in relation to—

(a) the training and experience that an individual providing independent advocacy services must have,

(b) service quality,

(c) quality assurance processes,

(d) record keeping.

(4) Regulations under subsection (1) must make provision for—

(a) providers of such independent information, advice, and independent advocacy to—

(i) collect anonymised data on the reasons for individuals seeking these services, and

(ii) provide that anonymised data to the Scottish Ministers, in a form that maintains the independence of the individual providers of these services,

(b) Scottish Ministers, at least once every five years, to—

(i) review the data provided under paragraph (a),

(ii) prepare and publish a report in relation to the data, such report to include any recommendations that the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate in relation to the improvement of the social care system,

(c) a report under paragraph (b)(ii) to—

(i) include any recommendations that the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate in relation to the improvement of the social care system,

(ii) be shared with—

(A) each local authority,

(B) each health board constituted under section 2(1)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.

(5) For the purposes of this section—

(a) “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,

(b) advocacy services are “independent” if the person providing them is not one of the persons mentioned in subsection (6),

(c) a public social care service is a service provided in pursuance of a function conferred by virtue of an enactment listed in the schedule of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014.

(6) The persons referred to in subsection (5)(b) are—

(a) the Scottish Ministers,

(b) a local authority,

(c) a health board constituted under section 2(1)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978,

(d) a person of a description specified by the Scottish Ministers by regulations.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 28 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 39(2)