Search

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) asserts the right to equal recognition and non-discrimination before the law. It places an obligation on countries to enable people to access support to exercise this right. This is viewed as a shift from ‘substituted decision-making’ to ‘supported decision-making’, with various models emerging. This article considers the right to equal recognition in the context of independent advocacy for people requiring social care, introduced, by the Care Act 2014 in England, as one such model. Data from surveys of local authority commissioners and advocacy providers are used to examine early implementation of this statutory duty. The legitimization of advocacy through statute was universally welcomed. However, our findings raise questions about its commissioning and implementation as an effective model for supported decision-making and the extent to which it ensures disabled people exercise their right to equal recognition.

The definitive guide to Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), covering the role that IMHAs play within mental health services, the principles and practice of the role, and the legal and political contexts.

This review of the quality of Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) provision across England was commissioned by the Department of Health. A team of independent researchers including four academics and nine co-researchers with experience of using mental health services undertook the study, which lasted eighteen months from 2010. Using different methods, the experiences and viewpoints of those with experience of IMHA, advocacy services, and health and social care professionals were explored in-depth.