1.6 Independent Information and Advice
You should comply with requirements for independent advice as set down by a relevant national agency.
You should also ensure that your users are aware of any limitations in the advice provided.
Relevant national agencies include the following:
Citizens Advice Scotland,
UPDATE,
Advice UK,
Telephone Helplines Association.
You must be able to represent the interests of your users without fear or favour. Users must be confident that you are acting in their best interests and not providing advice which is for your advantage or for the advantage of a third party. If this is not possible, your users must be offered alternative sources of help. For example, an advice service based within a social work department may not be in a position to advise a disabled person that he/she could take action against the local authority for an act of negligence.
You should also note that, particularly in areas of financial advice, membership of certain bodies is a legal requirement and you are not permitted to give advice in these areas without such membership.
In addition to ensuring your freedom to act on behalf of the individual service user, you should ensure that your advice is not compromised by any conflict of interests.
A number of issues can arise in respect of staff and volunteers. You need to ensure that the work undertaken by such staff and volunteers is done in an impartial manner.
For example, conflicts have arisen when staff or volunteers with allied business interests have inappropriately referred users to their own businesses or those of their relatives.
Go to the next page: Standard Two - Developing Your Service to Ensure Accessibility
(c) Scottish Accessible Information Forum, 2007
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