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(a) as to the appointment or recognition of independent advocates for the purpose of this Act;
(b) as to the functions of independent advocates for the purposes of this Act;
(c) that a person may act as an independent advocate only in such circumstances, or only subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed;
(d) for the appointment of a person as an independent advocate to be subject to approval in accordance with the regulations.
(4) In making arrangements under subsection (1), the appropriate authority must have regard to the principle that support in relation to a proposed act or decision should, so far as practicable, be given by a person who is independent of any person who will be responsible for the act or decision.
(5) The arrangements may include provision for payments to be made to, or in relation to, persons carrying out functions in accordance with the arrangements.
(6) The appropriate authority may make regulations as to the specified circumstances in which independent advocacy must be made available which shall include considerations of a major change in a person's accommodation and/or support arrangements where the accommodation or support is to be paid for in whole or in part from public funds, or would be but for the fact the person's resources exceed those set in regulations under section 22 of the National Assistance Act 1948.
(7) A major change for the purpose of subsection (6) means any change to—
(a) accommodation for a continuous period intended to or likely to exceed 28 days or
(b) any new contractual arrangements for providing support, for a person who lacks capacity to agree to the changes, where accommodation or support is to be paid for in whole or in part from public funds, or
(c) where the arrangements need to be made as a matter of urgency.
(8) In this section "the appropriate authority" means—
(a) in relation to the provision of the service of independent advocates in England, the Secretary of State, and
14 Dec 2004 : Column 1606
(b) in relation to the provision of the service of independent advocates in Wales, the National Assembly for Wales.'. —[Paul Holmes]
Brought up, and read the First time.
Paul Holmes (Chesterfield) (LD): I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Madam Deputy Speaker: With this it will be convenient to take the following amendments: No. 48, in page 19, line 10, leave out 'Independent consultee service' and insert 'Independent advocates'.
No. 49, in page 19, line 11, leave out 'independent consultees' and insert 'independent advocates'.
No. 50, in page 19, line 13, leave out 'independent consultees' and insert 'independent advocates'.
No. 51, in page 19, line 16, leave out 'independent consultees' and insert 'independent advocates'.
No. 52, in page 19, line 17, leave out 'independent consultees' and insert 'independent advocates'.
No. 53, in page 19, line 20, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 54, in page 19, line 22, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 55, in page 19, line 32, leave out 'consultee' and insert 'advocate'.
No. 56, in page 19, line 42, leave out 'independent consultee's' and insert 'independent advocate's'.
No. 57, in page 20, line 1, leave out 'independent consultees' and insert 'independent advocates'.
No. 58, in page 20, line 3, leave out 'independent consultees' and insert 'independent advocates'.
No. 34, in page 20, leave out lines 11 to 13.
No. 35, in page 20, leave out lines 37 to 39.
No. 59, in page 21, line 2, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 60, in page 21, line 8, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 61, in page 21, line 16, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 62, in page 21, line 17, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 36, in page 21, leave out lines 39 to 41.
No. 33, in page 22, line 2, at end add—
'or if accommodation would be provided but for the fact the person's resources exceed those set in regulations under section 22 of the National Assistance Act 1948.'.
No. 63, in page 22, line 12, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 64, in page 22, line 19, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 65, in page 22, line 31, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
No. 66, in page 22, line 33, leave out 'independent consultees' and insert 'independent advocates'.
No. 67, in page 22, line 38, leave out 'independent consultee' and insert 'independent advocate'.
14 Dec 2004 : Column 1607
Government amendments Nos. 15 and 16.
Paul Holmes: New clause 5 continues a debate that occupied some time in Standing Committee. The Government propose to introduce independent consultees, along the lines of existing advocates, to advise NHS bodies and local authorities about what is in a person's best interests when a decision is being made about serious medical treatment, or before certain types of accommodation are provided. The Government also propose to provide £6.5 million to fund the arrangements, but only for persons without friends and family—the unbefriended.
Much of that is good, as far as it goes, but concerns remain. The Making Decisions Alliance encompasses some 40 different disability campaigning groups and has been at the forefront in expressing those concerns. It said that what the Government call the independent consultee service could cause confusion by becoming a rival to the existing independent advocacy services and it believes that there is no need for two such services. That is why new clause 5 would replace all the references in the Bill to independent consultees with the phrase "independent advocates". Advocacy services already fulfil the role of independent consultees and make representations to decision makers. There is no need for a completely new service, with a completely new title to explain what it does.
There is also concern about the restriction of the independent consultee service simply to the unbefriended. If the Government's advocacy-plus, as Ministers dubbed it in Committee, is to involve highly trained, skilled and experienced staff, why deny their services to those people who have family and friends?
Mr. Boswell: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way as it will save me having to speak in this debate. May I cite to him the example—it was mentioned in Committee—of cases in which there are family disagreements? In such cases, it may be important to represent the views of the person without capacity in an objective way.
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