iscussion about action to be taken. An Independent Person is required at stage two and three under section 26 (3) of the Children Act 1989 complaints procedure. The person appointed should be neither a member nor an officer of the local authority. The key tasks of the independent person are to ensure that the process of investigation is open, transparent and fair and to work alongside the investigating officer to provide an independent objective element to the investigation. Investigating Officer An investigating officer may be appointed by the council with social services responsibility to carry out an investigation. This does not remove the requirement to appoint an independent person, as these are two distinct roles. Independent Visitor Of all the advisory and support roles established for looked after children and young people, the role of the Independent Visitor (IV) is closest to that of an advocate. IVs have statutory duties established by the Children Act 1989 which include visiting, advising and befriending the child. IVs should be recruited, trained, assessed and approved by local authorities to provide advice and befriending to any young person who has had no, or infrequent contact with their parents for over a year. They may advise the child on where to find, or who to ask for, particular information. The child or young person may wish the IV to speak as a friend on his behalf in order to help resolve a particular issue or difficulty. 20 4. Maintaining the Independence of the Advocate INTRODUCTION 4.1 The independence of the advocate is essential for them to be able to act on behalf of the child or young person. The National Standards for the Provision of Children’s Advocacy Services set out Government policy on the independence of advocacy services. Advocac