There are a number of research documents, strategies, guidance documents, and other publications which are relevant to independent advocacy in Scotland. In this section you can browse through these documents.
For documents published by the SIAA please visit our Publications page or for Government standards, strategies and policies that mention and promote advocacy click here.

Advocacy makes you feel brave: Advocacy support for children and young people in Scotland (January 2010)
This report presents the findings from a scoping study into advocacy support for children and young people in Scotland.

Big Words and Big Tables: Children and young people's experiences of advocacy support and participation in the Children's Hearings System (June 2006)
This research was commissioned as part of the Scottish Executive's review of the Children's Hearings System 'Getting it Right for Every Child'. This review seeks to improve the protection of children's rights including the extent to which children and young people can express their views in decisions made about them.

Having Your Say? The Same As You? National Implementation Group: Report of the Advocacy Sub Group (April 2006)
This report discusses how advocacy had progressed since 2000. It looks at when and how advocacy is being used, what it is achieving, how widely it is available and what needs to be done to make it more accessible and better understood.

The New Mental Health Act: A guide to independent advocacy: Information for Service Users and their Carers (December 2005)
In March 2003 the Scottish Parliament passed a new law, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. It came into effect in October 2005. It sets out how you can be treated if you have a mental illness including dementia, a learning disability or a personality disorder, and what your rights are. This guide is written for people who might want to use advocacy services, but it may be of interest to others including carers.

Limited Review of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003: Report (August 2009)
While there appeared to be general agreement that the Act was a significant advance on the Act of 1984, which it replaced, it was clear from the ongoing monitoring to which the Act was subject that there were some areas in which problems were being experienced. Accordingly, the Scottish Government decided to institute a limited review of the Act. This report details the findings of the review.

Report on the Review of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 (January 2001)
Also known as the Millan Report, this was the report of the first fundamental review of mental health law in Scotland for more than 40 years. It took place because it was felt it was time for the law to respond to the new directions which had emerged in mental health care: of more community based services; greater involvement of users and carers in decisions concerning treatment; and greater awareness of the need to respect human rights.

Advocacy in social care for groups protected under equality legislation (Winter 2010)
The provision of advocacy forms an increasingly important part of the social care agenda, particularly in relation to personalised care. Its availability, though, varies by locality.  The purpose of this study was to fill this gap and assess the extent to which existing advocacy provision is available to people in the protected groups in Great Britain. This is a research report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.  It is accompanied by case studies and a survey report.

Demonstrating control of decisions by adults with learning difficulties who have high support needs (October 2001)
This research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, based in England and Scotland, aimed to observe the decision-making process to determine how 'supported decision-making' (not 'substitute decision-making') could be rigorously undertaken and recorded, thereby giving it weight in both service and legal contexts. One of the reasons found that some people were not supported to have effective choice and control over their lives was lack of independent advocacy.

Access to independent advocacy: an evidence review (2009)
This report for the Office for Disability Issues (UK Government) summarises key themes from the UK and international research literature, and also highlights the extent and nature of gaps in the current evidence base.