Advocacy Orkney fighting for its future after funding withdrawal

A charity which provides vital advocacy services for vulnerable people in Orkney is fighting for survival, after Orkney Islands Council (OIC) and NHS Orkney withdrew funding, amid an alleged “serious” breach by an advocate.

As reported in this week’s The Orcadian, Advocacy Orkney, based at Queen Street in Kirkwall, is now appealing for assistance from the wider Orkney community, in an effort to maintain its services, after being left struggling to plug a £54,000 funding shortfall.

They say they have been unable to defend their position, following the claims that an advocate had overstepped their authority and obstructed a court order.

Co-funders of the service, OIC and NHS have defended their stance, with the former saying that the service’s refusal to acknowledge that the actions taken by had overstepped the mark has made arbitration “futile”.

Read more from Advocacy Orkney, OIC and the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance in the latest edition of The Orcadian.