VOX Scotland and SIAA garner sector wide support to highlight the importance of advocacy services for those with experience of mental illness
Voices of Experience (VOX) Scotland and the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA) have yesterday (22nd July) sent a joint letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing to express growing concerns around the potential erosion of collective advocacy provision across Scotland for people with experience of mental illness, and to request an urgent meeting to discuss how advocacy services can be protected.
The letter follows proposed cuts announced by the Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board which will impact several VOX and SIAA member organisations, including CAPS Independent Advocacy, which would see 82% of its collective advocacy services cut if the proposals are agreed.
The proposed cuts come at a time when we have seen advocacy services across Scotland in decline and struggling to meet demand, during a time when Scotland has seen a dramatic rise in people reporting mental health conditions from 4.4% in 2011 to 11.3% in 2022i, an increase in the numbers of detentions for compulsory mental health care and treatmentii, and the highest number of welfare guardianships ever recordediii.
Alarmingly, the proposals highlight the growing disconnect between Scottish Government policy and implementation, we know we need well-funded advocacy services to deliver core mental health standards and yet the reality on the ground is that these are being lost.
Commenting, Natalie Stevenson, VOX Scotland Manager, said:
“Given the financial climate in which Integrated Joint Boards (IJB) are operating, we fear this is just the first of many such decisions coming down the line from IJBs across Scotland.
“This is particularly concerning given that both Scottish Government and Mental Welfare Commission guidance references the importance of both individual and collective advocacy, people should have a choice about what kind of independent advocacy is right for them.
“What we are seeing in practice, however, is the erosion of services at a local level and a worrying rhetoric that collective advocacy is not valued as a support for people who face significant stigma and discrimination in our society.”
Suzanne Swinton, Chief Executive Officer at SIAA, added:
“Collective advocacy is rights enabling and empowers people experiencing significant barriers to have their voices heard and participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their lives. Without it, there will be reduced accountability mechanisms embedded to ensure the voice of lived and living expertise within the system.
“Moreover, research demonstrates that independent advocacy represents excellent value for public funds. The 2025 ‘Independent Advocacy for Independent Lives’ report from Social Finance found that for every £1 spent on independent advocacy services, there were savings of approximately £7 to the NHS and £5 to local authoritiesiv.
“Proposals to cut independent advocacy services in order to save money are, therefore, financially shortsighted.
“We are calling on the Government Ministers with responsibility for health to meet with us at the earliest opportunity to explore ways of ensuring people across Scotland can access the independent advocacy to which they are entitled and to engage with all Integrated Joint Boards to consider how collective and individual advocacy services are supported at a local level”.
Notes to Editors: More information on the proposed cuts to CAPS
About VOX Scotland VOX Scotland is Scotland’s only national mental health collective advocacy organisation run for and by people with lived experience of mental illness. We represent our members’ views to Scottish Government, the NHS and others to influence mental health policy and practice, making sure that our laws and services reflect their needs and interest.
About SIAA SIAA is the national intermediary organisation supporting, promoting and advocating independent advocacy across Scotland. Our aim is to raise awareness about the value and impact of independent advocacy, and influence decision makers ultimately with a view to widening access to independent advocacy for all who need it in Scotland.