Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to reduce the current backlog of cases with the Office of the Public Guardian.

OPG are working hard to reduce the length of time that customers are currently waiting for their LPAs to be registered. To tackle the backlog of applications that arose during the pandemic and meet the increased demand for services, OPG have hired extra staff and teams are working overtime and across multiple shift patterns to ensure customers receive their LPAs as quickly as possible. OPG have introduced process efficiencies and continue to make sure they are doing all they can to improve the application journey for customers. These measures are starting to take effect and customers should see waiting times begin to reduce.

The government is currently supporting the Powers of Attorney Private Members Bill led by Stephen Metcalfe MP. This Bill will facilitate changes to modernise the LPA service, with the aim to increase safeguards, improve user access and achieve sustainability for the OPG while keeping the LPA affordable for the public. It is expected that these changes could also have a positive impact on the time taken to register LPAs.