Looking out for each other: The launch of the findings of an assessment of the scale of and need for citizen (informal) advocacy

2pm Registration and refreshments
2.30 Chair’s Open Remarks and the history and background to the research – Joe Monaghan, Chief Officer, National Coalition of Advocacy Schemes
2.45 The impact of the contract culture on the voluntary organisations - Professor Debra Morris, School of Law & Social Justice, The University of Liverpool
3pm The importance of communities having access to a spectrum of advocacy– Carl Evans, Social Care Quality and Workforce, Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnership, Department of Health
3.15 The challenges for community based advocacy groups of moving to providing statutory advocacy – Keith Thomson, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Advocacy North East
3.30 Looking out for each other: the findings of the report an assessment of the scale and need for citizen (informal) advocacy in local communities – Louise Hardwick, Department of Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology, The University of Liverpool
3.45 Plenary Question and Answer session and summary
4.30 Close

Joe Monaghan: Joe has served as the elected Chief Officer of the National Coalition of Advocacy Schemes since it was founded in 2001. He has been involved in different roles in community and voluntary sectors for over fifty years. He has been involved in advocacy at a national, regional and local level since 1992, and chairs Liverpool’s Integrated Advocacy Group. He advocates an ‘Advocacy Plus’ approach to advocacy which is deeply rooted in a belief that the dignity and rights of all people are best secured through a community development approach at neighbourhood level.

Debra Morris: Debra Morris is Professor of Charity Law & Policy at the University of Liverpool where she is also the Director of the Charity Law & Policy Unit. As Director of the Unit, she leads research on various projects concerned with aspects of charity law. She is Editor of Charity Law & Practice Review, the only UK journal specialising in charity law. She has written widely in the area of charity law and has presented at conferences and seminars around the world.
Carl Evans: Carl has worked in a number of policy areas across the Department of Health, most recently on social care policy. He worked as part of the team developing and taking the Care Act through its legislative process and led on introducing the Act’s new rights to independent advocacy and setting out the duty that the Act places on local authorities to ensure the availability of information and advice around care and support. This included working with local authorities, the voluntary sector, care providers and users of services on statutory and practice guidance to support the Act’s implementation. Through this work Carl has developed an interest, though concedes little expertise, in peer support, community capacity and the availability of informal or non-statutory advocacy.

Keith Thomson: Keith has been the Chief Executive Officer of Independent Advocacy North East for the past five years. He previously served as Citizen Advocacy Coordinator with the organisation (since 1999), recruiting, preparing and supporting advocates in working with advocacy partners. Keith is strongly committed to informal advocacy and to the importance of community based advocacy groups.

Louise Hardwick: Louise Hardwick is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology at the University of Liverpool. She is also the Director of the charity Interchange, based in the School of Law & Social Justice. Louise originally practiced as a social worker and her interest in social care, the voluntary sector, and welfare reform has influenced much of her research and teaching.