Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government to whom the Official Solicitor reports concerning (1) fee setting and (2) decisions to represent.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

In most cases, the decision to instruct the Official Solicitor is made by the Courts where no other suitable person has been identified. The Official Solicitor, Sarah Castle, can act as her own solicitor or instruct a private firm of solicitors to represent her.

The Official Solicitor does not charge for acting as a litigation friend, only for her Court of Protection and Trust work, with authority to do this provided via individual Court Orders.

Where the Official Solicitor instructs an external legal firm to represent, costs can be recovered from the client and/or legal aid when the eligibility criteria is met. In house Court of Protection work is charged based on hourly charge out rates which are set by Senior Courts Costs Office.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current requirement for cases before the Court of Protection to receive representation from the Official Solicitor.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

There is no requirement for cases before the Court of Protection to receive representation from the Official Solicitor. Representation may be provided by a litigation friend other than the Official Solicitor, or by the appointment of another form of legal representative. In appropriate cases the Official Solicitor may agree to act as a representative of last resort.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for proceedings of the Court of Protection to continue to be conducted in private.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Attended hearings in the Court of Protection have ordinarily been held in public since 2016 with a ‘Transparency Order’ being made by the court to prohibit the publication of information that identifies, or is likely to identify, the vulnerable person concerned, their family, or any other person specified in the order. This allows the public and the media to attend hearings to observe how decisions are made whilst maintaining the privacy of the vulnerable person, their family, and any others involved.

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