There has been a dramatic increase recently in the number of interventions which have been made by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). A recent article in the Law Society Gazette revealed that in the year 2018-2019 721 applications were made by the OPG to the Court of Protection which is an increase of 55% from the previous year’s total of 465.
If you have concerns about a vulnerable friend or relative who has a Power of Attorney in place it is open to you to complain to the OPG and ask them to look into the Attorneys position and the OPG can hold the Attorney to account for actions they have taken in respect of the vulnerable person.
The OPG can hold Attorneys to account if they have not been acting in the best interests of the vulnerable person for example making improper gifts or not acting in the best interests of the vulnerable person.
The OPG also has additional powers to look into any safeguarding concerns and the number of safeguarding investigations which have involved the OPG has also increased dramatically from 1,871 in the year 2017-2018 up to 2,883 in the year 2018-2019.
It may also be possible to commence Court proceedings to replace an Attorney and to ask the court to consider the interests of the vulnerable person and to decide who should be best placed to be their attorney.
If you require any advice regarding this complicated area, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Spence who deals with contentious issues relating to powers of attorney.
0116 262 8596