A Scotland Where Everyone’s Voice Is Heard: What Independent Advocacy Can Make Possible. Read Independent Advocacy 2026 Manifesto: Voice. Rights. Independence.
Ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance is calling on all parties to invest in the support that helps us all live the lives we want to lead.
We all want to live in the place we call home, with the people and things we love, doing what matters to us. We all want to have our say about the decisions that shape our lives — about where we live, the support we receive, the relationships we keep. That is true for all of us, at every stage of life.
Independent advocacy is the glue that makes this possible for people who face the greatest barriers to being heard. It binds together the support, the relationships, and the rights that people need to live well. The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA), which represents 32 independent advocacy organisations across Scotland, has published a manifesto ahead of the 2026 elections setting out how the next Parliament and Government can ensure independent advocacy works for everyone who needs it. The good news is that we know what works, and there is a clear path forward.
What Is Independent Advocacy?
Independent advocacy means speaking up for and standing alongside people who face barriers to having their voice heard, without being influenced by the views of services, professionals, or anyone else with a stake in the outcome. It is about working with people to understand and express their own views and wishes, on their own terms.
What makes independent advocacy work is its independence. Independent advocacy organisations are structurally, financially, and psychologically separate from the services and systems making decisions about people’s lives. This means that when someone’s views conflict with professional opinion, or when a power imbalance makes it hard to speak up, an independent advocate is free to stand firmly on the person’s side. As one person who draws on independent advocacy put it: “It’s helped me to express my feelings and get my point across about things I probably would never have opened up about.”
There are different models. Individual independent advocacy helps people navigate services, understand their rights, and participate in decisions about their own lives. Citizen advocacy builds long-term, one-to-one relationships between volunteers from the local community developing long-term, one-to-one relationships with people who need support. For many, their citizen advocate is the only person in their life not being paid to be there. Collective independent advocacy brings groups of people together to find a common voice and influence the services that affect them all.
What Good Independent Advocacy Makes Possible
When independent advocacy is working well, the difference is tangible. People attend appointments they would otherwise have missed. They understand what is happening at a tribunal or care review, and they are able to say what they actually want. Collective independent advocacy groups have challenged the design of mental health services, contributed to housing strategies, and delivered training to nurses and therapists. As one group member said: “We use our lived experiences to help improve future services by looking at what doesn’t work and voicing realistic suggestions for improvements.”
Research from Social Finance has found that for every £1 invested in independent advocacy, approximately £7 is saved by the NHS and £5 by local authorities — through prevention, better decision-making, and more effective use of services. When people have independent advocacy support early, they are less likely to reach crisis point, and the services around them work better as a result. Investing in independent advocacy now is the smarter choice for all of us.
The Opportunity Scotland Has Before It
Independent advocacy is already a legal right in Scotland, appearing in ten Scottish laws covering mental health, children’s hearings, adult support and protection, social care, and more. The 2026 election presents a real opportunity to close the gap between the rights Scotland has committed to on paper and the lived reality for people across the country. The solutions are known. The organisations to deliver them exist. The SIAA’s manifesto sets out three clear priorities.
Priority One: Fulfilling Scotland’s Commitments on Mental Health and Capacity
The 2022 Scottish Mental Health Law Review made 21 detailed recommendations on independent advocacy, covering opt-out referral pathways, expanded collective independent advocacy rights, and stronger enforcement mechanisms. The Scottish Government accepted all 21 in 2023. The SIAA is asking the next Government to renew that commitment, with full implementation targeted by 2031, and to treat this as a test case that informs how independent advocacy is delivered across every area of Scottish law.
Priority Two: Sustainable, High-Quality Provision for Everyone
For independent advocacy to work well, it needs to be resourced. That means longer funding cycles, SIAA is calling for a minimum of three years, so that organisations can plan their workforce and provide the consistent, trusted support that people need. It means updated guidance for commissioners, because the current guidance dates from 2013. And it means a parliamentary inquiry to examine where provision is falling short and what needs to change. It also means protecting independence itself: when commissioners request data that compromises the relationship between an independent advocate and the person they support, they undermine the very thing they are commissioning.
Priority Three: Investing in Prevention
Collective and citizen independent advocacy are the most preventative forms of independent advocacy there are. They build the connections and confidence that keep people from reaching crisis in the first place. One group member described it simply: “I’ve been involved in collective advocacy groups since 2011 and they’ve saved my life.”
These models are also the most vulnerable to cuts, precisely because their impact is preventative rather than tied to a specific statutory process. The SIAA is asking the next Government to protect and expand them through dedicated funding streams that recognise them for what they are: a long-term investment in people and in Scotland’s future.
Building the Scotland We All Want to Live In
The SIAA’s vision is that by 2029, independent advocacy is accessible to at least one in five of those with a legal right to it, up from one in twenty today, with provision in every Scottish prison and rural area, and collective and citizen independent advocacy meaningfully expanded. By 2031, collective independent advocacy would be established as a clear legal right, with the data to show where Scotland is succeeding and where more work is needed.
This is a vision of a Scotland where independent advocacy is part of the fabric of how we support one another – not a last resort, but a steady presence that helps people stay connected to the lives they want to lead. We know how to build this. The 2026 election is the moment to commit to it.
We call on all parties standing in the 2026 election to commit to making Scotland a country where everyone’s voice can be heard.
Read Independent Advocacy 2026 Manifesto: Voice. Rights. Independence.
