Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2021 to Question 34612 on Powers of Attorney: Repayments, what estimate he has made of the number of applicants eligible for a refund of power of attorney fees overcharged by the Office of the Public Guardian who have not yet received such a refund.

The Department estimates that around 675,000 applicants out of our original estimate of one million, have not applied for a refund.

At its launch in 2018 the scheme was announced on GOV.UK and promoted through media and stakeholder channels. Solicitors, Will writers, financial organisations and third sector organisations were encouraged to use their channels to promote the refund scheme and were provided with information in advance of the launch to ensure that they were well prepared to signpost the relevant sources on GOV.UK, or more actively support their clients if they wished to.
Although the online application form previously hosted on Gov.UK is no longer in use, information regarding where to apply remains on GOV.UK. OPG are still accepting written requests for a refund from customers. Further reminders about the scheme were sent out last year.

As of June 2021, £16,463,993 worth of refunds have been made and 324,937 claims have been received.