Office of the Public Guardian
"The role of the Public Guardian is to protect people who lack capacity from abuse." [from OPG website]
About the Public Guardian
The following extract is from the (old) OPG website
The role of the Public Guardian is to protect people who lack capacity from abuse.
The Public Guardian, supported by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), helps protect people who lack capacity by:
- Setting up and managing a register of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA);
- Setting up and managing a register of Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA);
- Setting up and managing a register of court orders that appoint Deputies;
- Supervising Deputies, working with other relevant organisations (for example, social services, if the person who lacks capacity is receiving social care);
- Instructing Court of Protection Visitors to visit people who may lack mental capacity to make particular decisions and those who have formal powers to act on their behalf such as Deputies;
- Receiving reports from Attorneys acting under LPAs and from Deputies; and
- Providing reports to the COP, as requested, and dealing with cases where there are concerns raised about the way in which Attorneys or Deputies are carrying out their duties.
The Public Guardian is also personally responsible for the management and organisation of the OPG, including the use of public money and the way it manages its assets. A separate Public Guardian Board scrutinises the work of the Public Guardian and then reports to the Lord Chancellor.
See also
- MCA Update emails (for the full text of these periodic emails)
All documents in database:
- Amy Holmes, 'Powers of Attorney Bill receives Royal Assent' (Office of the Public Guardian, 25/9/23)
- Gov.uk, 'Claim a power of attorney refund' (deadline 1/2/21)
- James Morrey, 'Lasting Power of Attorney and the COVID Vaccine' (OPG blog, 8/2/21)
- Office of the Public Guardian, 'Public Guardian practice note (SD15): OPG’s approach to surety bonds' (updated 23/6/23)
- Office of the Public Guardian, 'Simplified process for verifying the death of a donor, attorney, deputy or guardian' (blog, 13/1/23)
- Office of the Public Guardian, 'Updating Public Guardian registers: Notification of death' (practice note SD16, January 2023)
- OPG, 'How to register an EPA during the coronavirus outbreak' (27/4/20)
- OPG, 'NHS and social care staff: check if a COVID-19 patient has an attorney or deputy' (5/2/21)
- OPG, 'NHS and social care staff: check if a COVID-19 patient has an attorney or deputy' (7/4/20)
External links
Office of the Public Guardian website
"Vulnerable adults to get better protection" - 17/12/08
Details of consultation, on OPG website
OPG Annual Report and Accounts 2008 - 2009 - 15/7/09 - "This report contains details of the OPG's performance and the work undertaken during 2007 - 2008. The report also contains the annual report by the Public Guardian to the Lord Chancellor on the discharge of his functions. This new report specifically covers the statutory role and duties of the Public Guardian, and is separate from the annual report of the OPG as an agency. It is a requirement of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) that this report is produced annually."
The 'reviewing mental capacity' consultation document, on MoJ website
When you become the client, Solicitors Journal, 3/2/09
Office of the Public Guardian, 'Fundamental Review of the Supervision of Court Appointed Deputies by the Public Guardian: Report to Parliament' (December 2014) . Extract: "The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice announced in an adjournment debate in October 2012 that the Public Guardian was to commence a fundamental review of how deputies appointed by the Court of Protection to protect people lacking mental capacity are supervised. This report is to inform Parliament of the findings of the review and to set out what measures are now being implemented."
Office of the Public Guardian, 'Gifts: Deputies and EPA/LPA Attorneys' (Practice Note no 02/2012, September 2015) . Summary from Government website: "Attorneys and deputies can give gifts on behalf of the person who they have been appointed to help make decisions for. They can only make gifts in some situations and only if it is in the person’s best interests. The practice note explains the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) policy on gifts. It also explains what OPG will do if an attorney or deputy makes a gift that they should not have given."
Office of the Public Guardian, 'Local authority deputyship responsibilities' (Practice Note no 01/2016, 14/1/16) . Summary from Government website: "The practice note explains the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) guidance on local authority deputyship responsibilities, including important information for authorities considering entering into a contractual agreement with an external provider."
Office of the Public Guardian, 'OPG's approach to solicitor client accounts' (Practice Note no 02/2016, 15/2/16) . Detail from Government website: "This practice note explains the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) approach to the use of client accounts to manage deputyship funds, and how the deputy acts under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), the Solicitors Regulation Authority Accounts Rules 2011 (SARs) and the MCA Code of Practice."
Office of the Public Guardian, 'Giving gifts for someone else: A guide for attorneys and deputies' (document OPG2, published 18/5/16, updated 20/6/16) . "Attorneys and deputies can sometimes give gifts on behalf of the person they have been appointed to help make decisions for. Only deputies and attorneys making financial decisions can give gifts; you can’t give gifts if you have been appointed just to make health and welfare decisions. If you do have the authority to give gifts, you can do so only in some situations and if it is in the person’s best interests. This guide includes practical advice such as: (a) what counts as a gift; (b) who can give gifts for someone else; (c) when you can give gifts; (d) changing the limits on gift-giving; (e) what happens with unauthorised gifts."