. The National Standards for the Provision of Children’s Advocacy Services set out Government policy on the independence of advocacy services. Advocacy will only be used and is only possible if children and young people are confident that advocates are acting exclusively on their behalf and have no apparent conflicting interests and pressures. Therefore, the advocacy or children’s rights service should, as far as possible, be funded and managed in a way that ensures independence from the commissioning organisation. WHO MAY NOT BE AN ADVOCATE? 4.2 Regulation 3 says who may not be an advocate when a complaint is to be or has been made. It says that a person may not provide assistance under the arrangements made by the local authority under section 26A to persons or children who make or intend to make representations under section 24D or section 26 if: ● he is or may be the subject of the representations; ● he is responsible for the management of a person who is or may be the subject of the representations; ● he manages the service which is or may be the subject of the representations; ● he has control over the resources allocated to the service which is or may be the subject of the representations; ● he is or may become involved in the consideration of the representations on behalf of the local authority. 4.3 The intention is that no one who has an interest in the subject of the complaint and therefore in its outcome should be provided under the local authority’s advocacy arrangements as an advocate in relation to that complaint. As advocates are to be provided for children and young people who intend to make a complaint, it will not always be clear when an advocate is appointed what or who is to be the subject of the complaint. Therefore where there is a possibility that