Wirral Advocacy Partnership is a partnership of 6 organisations, all of who have a contract with the Department of Adult Social Services and the Children’s and Young Persons Department of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council to provide advocacy to a wide range of people who use services.

The members include:

• Age Concern Wirral
• Advocacy in Wirral
• Kinder Safeguarding Children
• Wired
• Wirral MIND
• Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted

Each of the organisations has at least one advocate who is funded or partly funded by Social Services.  However, most of the organisations also have Advocates who are funded via other streams.

Advocacy in Wirral hold the contract for the co-ordination of the advocacy partnership and organises resources for the work of WAP to be taken forward.  This function enables regular joint working and liaison between the respective organisations.  WAP is widely regarded both within the Borough and nationally as an example of good practice in terms of its structure and evidence of genuine partnership working, and an example of this would be the provision of the Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy Service, which is co-ordinated and delivered by members of the partnership.

Structure of the Partnership

The WAP Steering Group meets regularly and is attended by the Chief Executive or a Trustee of each of the organisations and a representative from the Department of Adult Social Services.  They oversee the work carried out by the WAP Coordinator and plan the priorities of the Partnership to formulate an Action Plan.

The Advocates meet monthly to share good practice, discuss updates in the law and guidance and to meet with a representative from Social Services to discuss developments and working practices.  All the Advocates from the member organisations are invited, regardless of how their posts are funded or whether they are voluntary or paid.  Advocates from other organisations also are included, such as the BME Support Service.

Advocacy in Wirral facilitate these meetings, arrange speakers, and brings together topics for discussion.  The role of the WAP Coordinator was recently reviewed and, until further notice, the co-ordination function will be provided by a separate administrator and a consultant, Jenny Naylor.

The co-ordination function includes:

• Maintaining effective communication between the Partnership organisations
• Dissemination of information across all Advocacy Services
• Facilitating training for Advocates and when appropriate delivering the same.
• Working with Advocates to identify similar trends in service areas and supporting Advocates, where requested, in consultation issues.
• Facilitating the Advocates and Steering Group meetings with the Department of Adult Social Services

In addition, the following work areas were identified for 2009/10:

• Raising awareness of advocacy and WAP by developing a communications strategy and holding an annual conference
• Finding out more about who provides advocacy formally and informally and identifying new partners
• Developing a collaborative service user strategy and fundraising for service user involvement projects

A major conference promoting the work of Wirral’s advocacy organisations has been scheduled for April 2010.

For more information on the work of Wirral Advocacy Partnership, please contact:

Jenny Naylor via Advocacy in Wirral on 0151 650 1530 or

e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it