Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is able to take to speed up procedures in the Office of the Public Guardian.

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has many areas of responsibility, but the areas most affected by COVID-19, leading to delays in procedures, are those regarding the registering of lasting and enduring powers of attorney (LPAs and EPAs), and time taken for an investigation into concerns raised about an attorney or deputy to be approved by the public guardian.

LPAs and EPAs are paper documents that require a physical staff presence in an office to process and register; therefore these elements of the registration process have been affected by the need to maintain social distancing measures. Additionally, the staff numbers that are available to attend the office to carry out these physical activities are significantly reduced due to COVID-19. Measures introduced were focused on enabling as much remote working as possible, and also increasing the number of staff hours available in the office through overtime payments.

OPG aims to register Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) in 40 working days (this includes a statutory 4-week waiting period). OPG has seen an impact on the time taken to process an LPA since COVID-19 began affecting circumstances. As of 22/10/2020 the average time taken to process and dispatch an LPA was 58 days against the target of 40 days. As a comparison, the July average came in at 71 days. The average of 40 days was achieved in 2019/20.

As part of a wider transformation programme, OPG is developing options to consult on proposals for modernising the LPA, with the opportunity for less reliance on paper and therefore the need for the physical presence of staff in offices.

When investigating concerns regarding an attorney or deputy, OPG needs to establish the mental capacity of the person (the donor of the LPA/EPA or the person who has a deputyship order in place for them) before conducting further enquiries into the allegations made. COVID-19 has prevented or delayed the ability for assessment of capacity to be made, as this is done through specially arranged visits to the person’s home/residence. As of the end of September 2020, an investigation was taking an average of 83 days against the target of 70 days. As a comparison, an average of 74 days was achieved in 2019/20. Where any serious concerns about a person are identified, OPG informs the local authority so they can follow up at a local level and take any actions they feel are necessary.