nvolved in health assessments and would benefit from training in how to promote both physical and mental health7. 3.23. They should also be capable of understanding and acting upon relevant legislation concerned with housing and homelessness. More detail about the range of knowledge and skills that a PA requires is provided at Appendix A. 7 Statutory guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children (2009): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-the-health-and-wellbeing-of-looked-after- children 25 3.24. In recruiting PAs, it will be ideal if the range of advisers is sufficiently wide to provide young people with a choice, bearing in mind considerations of gender and ethnicity. The responsible authority will always need to give careful consideration to any preferences expressed by the young person about who might fulfil their PA function. However, in the final analysis, the local authority must be satisfied in every case that the person acting as a young person’s PA has the requisite skills and the necessary availability. For example, local authorities should ensure that a PA is familiar with a young person’s way of communicating if they are disabled, e.g. use Makaton or other augmentative communication methods, or has access to appropriate training, interpretation or facilitation. The final decision as to who will be suitable to act as a PA for an individual care leaver rests with the responsible authority. 3.25. Where a young person has developed a trusting relationship with a carer then it should be possible for the local authority to delegate aspects of the PA function to them, as it will clearly be in young people’s interests to build on the positive relationships that they have already established. However, in these circumstance