Advocacy · England
Getting advocacy that works for you
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This guide is for adults in England.
An advocate helps you be heard when dealing with services.
Ask if the advocacy service received your request.
Keep the date and contact details.
Tell the service about meetings and important dates.
Ask when someone will contact you.
If the service says no, ask why.
Ask how to have that decision checked.
Tell the advocate how you communicate.
You do not need to use speech to explain your wishes.
Some people cannot give instructions even with support.
An advocate can explore their wishes and protect their rights.
Agree what the advocate will help you with.
Ask when you will check progress together.
Tell the advocacy organisation if its service is not working for you.
Ask for help using its complaints process.
Ask what happens next if the problem continues.
Do not wait for a complaint to finish if someone is unsafe.
What you can do next
Write down what happened and the help you need.
Ask for an answer you understand.
Get help with an advocacy concern Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- If you are unhappy with advocacy Web page
NDTi explains complaints routes and the limits of its quality-mark role.
- POhWER: what is advocacy? Web page
Find out how an advocate can help you understand your choices and have your say.
- Advocacy standards and Easy Read information Web pageEasy Read
The Advocacy Charter and other resources about good independent advocacy.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
When advocacy is delayed or not working
Follow up a referral, ask about a refusal and get support that respects your communication and wishes.
Adults using health and care services · England · Eligibility depends on the advocacy route
Check the referral
Keep the date, service name, contact details and any reference number. Ask whether the service received the referral and needs more information. Explain the decision you need help with, communication needs and any meeting or deadline. If an online form is difficult, ask for another way to request help. Check who will contact you and how you will recognise their message.
If you are refused
Ask for an accessible explanation of the eligibility rule used and how it applies to your circumstances. Check whether relevant information was missing or misunderstood. Ask who can review the decision and whether another service could help. A learning disability does not create a right to every advocacy service; equally, a refusal from one provider does not establish that no advocacy duty applies.
If there is a delay
Tell the referring professional and advocacy service about important dates and what you cannot manage without support. Ask who will resolve the problem, when you will hear back and what interim support is possible. Ask whether a meeting should be rearranged so you can prepare with an advocate. Do not assume a deadline has changed until the responsible organisation confirms it.
Communication comes first
Ask for your usual communication methods, enough time and a suitable meeting place. Not speaking is different from being unable to instruct an advocate. Where someone cannot give instructions despite support, ask about non-instructed advocacy. The advocate should spend time understanding their communication, experiences, likely wishes and rights, including information from people who know them well. They should distinguish evidence from interpretation and remain focused on that person.
Check independence and the agreed work
Ask what your advocate will do, what falls outside their role and how you will review progress together. Discuss any conflict of interest, such as a connection with the service you are challenging. Funding by a council does not by itself mean an advocate works for the council's interests. The advocacy organisation should explain how it protects independent work and confidential information.
Raise a concern about the service
If you feel unheard or the advocate has not done agreed work, give specific examples and ask the provider for an accessible complaints process. If this does not resolve matters, ask the organisation that arranged or funded the service about its complaints route. NDTi's quality mark is not an advocacy regulator or a complaint investigation service. Use safeguarding help promptly if someone is unsafe; do not wait for an advocacy complaint to finish.
Words you could use
“Please explain what is happening with my advocacy request, any eligibility decision, who will help and when I will hear back.”
More useful links
- If you are unhappy with advocacy Web page
NDTi explains complaints routes and the limits of its quality-mark role.
- POhWER: what is advocacy? Web page
Find out how an advocate can help you understand your choices and have your say.
- Advocacy standards and Easy Read information Web pageEasy Read
The Advocacy Charter and other resources about good independent advocacy.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 27 October 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- NICE NG227: advocacy services Web page
Timely access, preparation, communication support and non-instructed advocacy; guidance is not a universal eligibility rule.
- POhWER: make a referral Web page
Referral forms and help to request support. Check which services are available in your area.
- POhWER: what is advocacy? Web page
Understanding choices, preparing for meetings and being heard.
- NDTi: independence in advocacy Web page
Independence from funding bodies and managing conflicts of interest.
- NDTi: concerns about an advocacy service Web page
Provider and commissioning-body complaints routes; NDTi is not an advocacy regulator.