Standards
and
Guidelines
for the
Provision of
Generalist
Voluntary Advice Services
CONTENTS
1.
Background ......................................................................................................... 1
2.
Advice Definition ................................................................................................. 3
3.
General Principles ............................................................................................... 4
4.
Management ....................................................................................................... 6
5.
Staffing ................................................................................................................ 9
6.
Training ............................................................................................................. 10
7.
Premises ........................................................................................................... 11
8.
Recording Systems ........................................................................................... 13
9.
Advice Work ...................................................................................................... 14
10.
Finances ......................................................................................................... 16
11.
Auditing/Monitoring Advice ............................................................................. 17
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1. BACKGROUND
1.1. In the early 1990s, the Advice Services Alliance established a set of
Standards and Guidelines for organisations providing advice services. The
Advice Service Alliance (A.S.A.) is made up of the three main organisations
providing support to independent advice providers:
 Citizens Advice (formerly N.I.A.C.A.B.)
 Advice N.I. (formerly A.I.A.C.)
 The Law Centre N.I.
1.2. Recent work by the A.S.A. has lead to the production of new draft standards
on Training, I.T. and Quality Standards. It is intended that these will
eventually apply to all advice providers in N. Ireland and that adherence to
these will be a precondition for funding. In terms of I.T., the standards work
towards a shared standard I.T. system which ensures that policy codes are
consistently used and that the system can provide the information needed by
Government. Training will be taken forward within the National Qualifications
Framework which should facilitate greater consistency of advice work. The
Quality Assurance guidelines sets out a basis for quality of provision, within
BS7799/ISO27001 and introduces a process of external accreditation and
organisational audit.
1.3. A range of relevant policy at central government level provides the context for
the provision of voluntary advice services. The Department for Social
Development (DSD) carries overall responsibility for central government
policy and funding of generalist voluntary advice. In this role it commissioned
a strategy for the Northern Ireland Advice Sector in 2004 leading to the
Opening Doors document which currently provides the policy for such work.
Subsequently the Department commissioned work on the location of
voluntary advice services aiming to consolidate the idea of Area Advice
Centres ensuring maximum use of resources yet best possible public access.
1.4. In 2011 the Department published Guidance on the Provision of Local
Generalist Voluntary Advice. Along with the Opening Door strategy this
provides a basis for determining what local advice work should look like.
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1.5. The Standards and Guidelines set out in this document will be used by
Ballymoney Borough Council, Coleraine Borough Council, Limavady Borough
Council and Moyle District Council as a tool upon which to base funding
decisions and to ensure that good quality services are provided. On an
ongoing basis these will be updated to ensure alignment with new standards
and best practice as they arise.
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2. ADVICE DEFINITION
2.1. DSD guidance suggests that the definition of generalist advice used by the
councils is:
 A provider which offers advice as a primary role and major part of its
overall provision, not as a by-product of its other work;
 An advice provider which employs at least one paid appropriately trained
advice worker;
 A provider which offers advice in the following areas:
o welfare/benefits advice
o employment issues
o housing
o health and disability
o basic consumer advice
o basic money and debt advice
2.2. Providers may also provide more complex money and debt counselling,
consumer advice, tribunal representation, basic immigration advice, etc.,
depending on their expertise;
2.3. Providers must be members of Citizens Advice or Advice N.I. or equivalent
organisation;
2.4. Providers must have appropriate insurance to cover liability to clients;
2.5. Providers must have premises which are fully accessible to those with
disabilities and should be centrally located;
2.6. Providers must have an adequate case recording system, ideally I.T. based,
which can provide monitoring information as required by the Councils and
should be auditable by Council officers;
2.7. The Advice Service must be offered, and be open, to everyone living in the
Council area.
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3. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
3.1. DSD guidance suggests that service providers should provide an advice
service in line with the following principles:
a) Independence - from public/statutory bodies and political parties. The
Management Committee should incorporate the appropriate skills mix to
ensure strategic direction for the organisation. It should also ensure
representation from the community it serves and should be independent of
political, statutory, commercial or other undue interference.
It is
recognised that in some cases local Councillors may be nominated onto
advice centre’s management committees as representatives of local
people and communities and that representatives from public and statutory
bodies may also be nominated onto management committees, should their
particular expertise provide benefit and support. It is the responsibility of
the management committee to ensure that their role is solely to advise on
strategic issues (i.e. ensuring provision meets best practice, up to date
information and staff training). It is important that the management
committee stress that the work of the advice centre is totally unconnected
to the beliefs and policies of any political party and that public/statutory
organisations’ agendas should not influence advice provision in that
centre. Furthermore, issues relating to advice work should not be used to
further the goals of any political party in any way. No staff member from
any advice centre should, in any way, show an alignment with any political
party during the course of any work relating to the services of the advice
centre.
b) Impartiality - Provide an impartial service open to everyone regardless of
race, religion, politics, age, sex, sexual orientation or disability, free from
commercial, political or other limiting considerations.
c) Accessibility - Provide a free and accessible service to all members of
the community which it serves. The centre should be in a suitable
location, clearly identified and physically accessible and provision should
be made regarding access for people with disabilities. It should be free of
any symbolism which identifies it with any party political or sectarian
perspective. There should be no charges or invitations or pressure to
make donations. In some cases clients, or other agencies or businesses
may wish to make donations to the centre. Procedures should be set up
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to facilitate this. No cash donations should ever be received. Donations
should only be received in cheque or postal order form and be
accompanied by a letter. They should always be presented to the
Management Committee and acknowledged by them by way of letter to
the donor. All donations should be recorded in the accounts as donations.
Clients should be made aware of these procedures, by the display of a
sign indicating that the advice service is free and that no cash donations
will be received and outlining the procedures for those who wish to made
donations.
d) Confidentiality - Provide a confidential service to all its clients and meet
all data protection legislative requirements. Advice should be provided in
privacy by a trained advisor. No details should be passed on to other
agencies without the client’s knowledge and consent.
e) Effectiveness - Provide an effective service to all of its clients and the
community which it serves. The advice centre should be able to show its
effectiveness through demonstrable and measurable outcomes. The
organisation should have an appropriate management committee or
board. Good day to day management procedures, structures and financial
management should be in place. Appropriately trained staff should deliver
advice. Appropriate employment policies, for example equal opportunities,
health and safety, etc. should be available. The centre should have an up
to date information system, a standard method of case recording, both
ideally IT based and a complaints procedure
f) Accountability - Provide a service which is accountable to users, the local
community and others who work with the advice centre.
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4. MANAGEMENT
4.1. Advice service providers should demonstrate that they meet the required
management and resource levels. The ultimate responsibility for an
organisation’s delivery of advice services should be placed with a
management committee or board. The management committee should
incorporate the appropriate skills mix to ensure strategic direction for the
organisation. It should also ensure representation from the community it
serves (representation from local community groups and/or issue based
groups such as disability organisations, etc.). Ultimately the management
committee should be accountable to the community it serves. Staff members
should not be represented on the management committee, however they can
be in attendance to discuss certain items upon request, to provide feedback
to the committee or answer any queries the committee might have.
4.2. The management committee should:
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ensure that advice services maintain independence from public bodies,
statutory bodies and political parties in ethos, image, appearance,
governance and approach.
It is important that the management
committee stress that the work of the advice centre is totally unconnected
to the beliefs and policies of any political party and that public/statutory
organisations’ agendas should not influence advice provision in that
centre. Furthermore, issues relating to advice work should not be used
to further the goals of any political party in any way.
ensure appropriate responses to need. In some cases the advice centre
may not be able to meet all of a client’s needs, however, where this is the
case, appropriate referral structures should be in place.
be governed by a constitution which requires that it meets at least 4
times per year.
hold an Annual General Meeting.
specify the objectives of the service (which should be in line with needs
and should continuously be adapted to reflect need)
agree subject areas of advice work to be provided
agree style of work - e.g. emphasis on advice work, casework, advocacy,
policy comment, campaigning, etc.
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agree catchment area and client groups. The catchment area may be
the whole of the Council area, or a very localised geographical or
community area. However, it must be acknowledged that ultimately
client choice is paramount so even if the target client group is a very
localised community, there is no reason why clients from other areas
should not use the facility. Likewise clients from the target group may
wish to use advice centres outside of the target area.
ensure that on a day to day basis the management and operation of the
centre is undertaken through an appropriate staff structure.
ensure employment of staff to fulfil the objectives
ensure staff receive training and supervision appropriate to the type of
work undertaken
ensure the existence of appropriate systems to monitor the effectiveness
of the service provided.
review work undertaken regularly, to assess performance, to reassess
objectives and review operational issues (staffing, resources, etc.)
ensure appropriate financial control, budgeting and planning,
ensure that legal responsibilities are fully addressed
ensure the publication and circulation of an annual report and audited
accounts and ensure they are made available to funding bodies.
promote the service throughout the community
have in place a range of appropriate and up to date policies, specifically
in relation to:
o equal opportunities and non-discrimination;
o freedom from bullying/harassment;
o absence management;
o use of internet/e-mail;
o grievance and disciplinary procedures;
o flexible working arrangements;
o health and safety;
o payment of travel and other appropriate expenses for staff and
volunteers;
o use of volunteers.
o annual staff appraisals
4.3. Where staff are represented on management committees they should be
limited to a maximum of one third of the voting members of the management
committee. Staff representatives should not have a vote on any matter
relating to employment terms and conditions.
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4.4. Each member of the management committee should receive a statement of
the objectives and a clear description of the responsibilities expected of them.
They should receive training to help them carry out these responsibilities.
New members should undertake an induction course. Each member of the
management committee must sign a declaration of interest indicating that
their membership of the committee will not result in any conflict of interest.
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5. STAFFING
5.1. Staff should be accountable to the management committee who in turn
should be accountable to the community served and to clients. All advice
centres should comply with any current, relevant, legislation and best practice
in all their employment practices.
5.2. Specifically:
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Advice providers should adhere to measures outlined in Equality
legislation (relating to sex discrimination, fair employment, race
discrimination and disability discrimination).
All staff, full time, part time, paid or voluntary, should be subject to careful
selection, based on meeting an agreed person specification and
recruitment and selection should meet equality legislation.
All staff, full time, part time, paid or voluntary, should undergo an
induction, basic training, and a probationary period.
All staff, should have a job description, and volunteers a “role
description”, outlining duties, responsibilities and accountability.
All paid staff should have a contract of employment outlining employment
terms and conditions. Staff should be made aware of the centre’s
confidentiality policy and be asked to indicate their acceptance of this.
This may be done as a separate written document or as part of the
induction process.
Advice should only be given by staff with the appropriate level of skills,
experience and supervision. The experience and skills levels required for
each type of advice should be stated.
Consideration should be given to having a mechanism to address the
issue of staff stress if it occurs.
Regular staff meetings should be held to review work undertaken and to
ensure effective operation and development of the service.
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6. TRAINING
6.1. Training for staff and volunteers should be provided on an ongoing basis.
Training could be of an informal nature, through participation on courses, or
attendance at conferences and workshops. Training plans should be
developed and training records kept.
6.2. Basic training may include:
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Certificate in Welfare rights or equivalent training offered by Citizens
Advice, Advice N.I. or other competent provider.
I.T. training to access up to date information and record work undertaken.
subject based training in legislation and practice
skills and techniques relevant to the advice giving process, such as
interviewing skills, accessing relevant information, research and
commenting on social policy.
6.3. Post basic training for experienced workers may include:
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preparation and presentation of cases at appeals, or other fora, and
tribunals
awareness raising to enable advice provision and sign posting re:
specialist work, (e.g. debt and money advice, consumer law and practice,
employment issues, disability issues, homelessness, addiction,
immigration, introduction to community care, etc.)
more detailed study of various areas of advice work, should this be
deemed appropriate by the management committee, to meet identified
community needs and filling gaps in provision.
6.4. Advice providers should encourage all advice giving staff to undertake the
N.V.Q. in Advice and Guidance, or equivalent where appropriate.
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7. PREMISES
7.1. Advice Centres should be highly visible and easily accessed through use of
public transport. Provision should be made for people with mobility problems
or who require special facilities due to visual or hearing disabilities. As a
minimum premises should meet the requirements of the Disability
Discrimination Order (NI)
7.2. In all cases, centres should be neutral and not seen to be aligned to any
political, community or other group. Where centres claim to service a wide
area or diverse population, they should be located in an area which is
accessible to all members of the community.
7.3. Each centre should at least include:
 private interviewing facilities, at least one interview room per full time
equivalent advice worker
 a suitable public reception and waiting area
 access to a private office for follow up work and meetings
 access to toilet and kitchen facilities
7.4. Premises must comply with the statutory requirements laid down under the
Office and Shop Premises Act, the Health and Safety at Work Order, D.D.A.,
and other relevant Equality and Health and Safety legislation applying at the
time. Local fire authorities should be consulted concerning compliance with
fire regulations. Premises should be adequately insured for public liability.
7.5. Full time advice centres should be open to the public 5 days per week.
Hours of opening should depend on the community’s needs. Full time advice
centres, at a minimum, are those which need to operate the equivalent of 5
full working days per week with at least 2 staff on duty at all times.
7.6. In some cases, the need for a local advice centre may be met in premises
that do not fulfil the above standards (i.e. in local communities where advice
services are provided on an outreach basis to that community from a more
centralised advice centre). In such cases, hours of opening should depend
on the community’s needs and be agreed by the management committee
following consultation with the community in question.
7.7. Hours of opening should be clearly displayed and reviewed from time to time.
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7.8. All advice centres should provide adequate publicity and information about
their work.
7.9. All advice should be given free of charge although this does not preclude
clients freely giving donations should they so wish in line with the procedures
outlined in General Principles at Section 3.1 c .
7.10.
Advice centre premises should not be used for any activities or
publicity which is not compatible with the ethos of the advice provision as
outlined in these guidelines.
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8. RECORDING SYSTEMS
8.1. To ensure efficiency of operation all client records should be I.T. based using
a suitable system such as CARMA, or some other similar system. This
should allow for analysis, monitoring and auditing, without infringing client
confidentiality.
8.2. Advice centres should adopt consistent case recording procedures.
Information collected should include the following as a minimum:
 name, address (including postcode) and telephone number of client and a
specific reference number for each client (which should be used to record
each visit)
 age, sex, religious/ethnic background and other categories which are
thought important to analyse access and equality issues.
 nature of the query (categories used should be consistent across all
providers and should include: Benefits; Housing; Employment; Debt and
Money Advice; Health and Social Services; Education; Legal; Consumer;
Other)
 options outlined to client
 any action taken on behalf of the client
 the final outcome
 referrals to other agencies, etc.
 time spent with client
 whether visit was pre-planned (appointment), drop-in, phone or by home
visit.
 the clients’ approval to be consulted as part of an external confidential
audit process
8.3. Each client visit should be treated as a single unit (defined as a “contact”) for
measuring the number of people contacting the centre. However, if more
than one query is dealt with then each should be recorded as a separate
advice enquiry in order to measure the type of advice sought and given. In
addition, the time spent dealing with each issue should be clarified in order to
analyse the level of advice required for different issues.
8.4. Providers must ensure that all information provided is maintained in a secure
and totally confidential manner.
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9. ADVICE WORK
9.1. All client visits should be treated with confidentiality, and no details passed to
any other party without the client’s knowledge and consent. In particular:
 Clients should not be asked about the nature of their visit in front of other
people
 Clients should be interviewed in private by trained advisors.
 The client’s permission should be sought before any other person is
allowed to sit in on an interview
 Interview areas should provide visual and aural privacy
 Details of an individual client’s case should only be used for policy
comment if all identifying details have been removed, unless the client
has given consent to that specific use.
9.2. Advice providers must demonstrate that they can continuously access up to
date and accurate information. This can be ensured through use of
appropriate I.T. equipment, through appropriate training, attendance at
relevant conferences and workshops/seminars, published material. To this
end:
 Staff should be trained on the use of information systems.
 A proportion of each advice worker’s time should be dedicated to ensuring
that they have up to date and accurate information.
9.3. In addition to tackling individual problems, advice providers have a policy role
in providing information to statutory authorities, etc., on the problems
experienced, especially with respect to particular legislation, regulations,
policies, practices and procedures. Some staff time should be allocated to
this function.
9.4. All advice providers should have a formal complaints procedure and a facility
for clients to comment on the support they have received. Clients should be
able to make comments/complaints directly to someone who is not involved
in the day to day running of the centre.
9.5. Clients should be allowed access to their individual files.
9.6. Advice Service providers should be able to demonstrate that, where
appropriate, they make referrals to other agencies. In some cases the advice
centre may not be able to meet all of a client’s needs. Where this is the case
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appropriate referral structures should be in place.
For this reason,
relationships between all advice providers in the area should be fostered.
9.7. Clients should not be referred to private sector practitioners (who can claim
Legal Aid compensation), for advice on matters which advice service
providers are qualified to give free of charge, unless there is evidence to
suggest that NONE of the agencies funded to provide that client’s advice
needs have the capacity to do so at the time of the client’s request, OR, that
the client has a valid reason for choosing to use the services of that private
sector practitioner and if it is more appropriate for them to do so. Examples
include matrimonial problems, injury claim and criminal action.
In such
cases advice service providers play a very important signposting role. Advice
providers should not refer clients to named private sector practitioners. Such
referrals should be noted along with reasons why they are necessary.
9.8. All advice providers should ensure:
 All practice is consistently monitored and evaluated on a suitable cycle
 Agreed criteria for determining the need for home visits should be drawn
up.
 They hold adequate professional indemnity insurance to cover all advice
giving staff.
 Their compliance with legal requirements in N.I. in respect of charity law,
equality legislation, employment law and any other relevant legislation
which may arise from time to time.
 Clients have access to the most appropriate and best quality advice
available. As required, clients should be given access to other providers if
this is in their best interests. All providers should establish appropriate
referral mechanisms with other providers in the Council area to ensure
that this condition is met.
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10.
FINANCES
10.1.
A Contract will only be awarded if all of the above standards are
demonstrated.
10.2.
Other expenses may include:
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staff and management committee training
information/resources
staff expenses (travel)
premises costs including rent, rates, maintenance, heating, lighting,
insurance, equipment, stationery, postage, telephone charges,
publicity, accountancy, recruitment, auditors, etc.
membership fees to appropriate organisations.
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11.
AUDITING/MONITORING ADVICE
11.1
Council officers may request monitoring information up to four times
per year. This may involve monitoring visits by Council Officers.
Officers will check that the conditions as set out in the Contract are
being met and that standards are being observed. Officers will not ask
for information about individual clients.
11.2
The following will be monitored:
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11.3
Annually, each centre should be asked to demonstrate that they are
meeting the standards set out in this document. Centres should be
expected to notify Council if they become unable to meet these
standards. Each centre may be visited randomly during the course
of each year to sample compliance with a few standards.
Each centre will be asked to complete regular monitoring forms.
This information may be checked as follows:
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Centres may be compared across Councils on the basis of time
spent/client and issue, the range of work undertaken, the number of
clients and extent of intensive work, e.g., tribunals, etc.
A sample of referrals may be checked with the referral agency
If each client is given a unique client number, these may be
checked for pattern of use and appropriate allocation of numbers
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STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PROVISION OF GENERALIST VOLUNTARY ADVICE
SERVICES (JANUARY 2013)
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