Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Office of the Public Guardian’s fee exemption criteria for Lasting Powers of Attorney on people migrated from income-related Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit.

The criteria for the remission of or exemption from fees are prescribed in secondary legislation, namely the Public Guardian (Fees etc.) Regulations 2007 (Fees Regulations). The Fees Regulations require the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) to grant a full exemption from fees if the applicant is in receipt of a number of qualifying benefits; these include income-related Employment and Support Allowance but not Universal Credit.

Where the applicant is not eligible for one of the qualifying benefits, but their gross annual income does not exceed £12,000, the Fees Regulations require OPG to grant a 50% remission of fees. The Fees Regulations provide OPG with a discretionary power to reduce or remit (but not exempt) fees if the applicant is in receipt of Universal Credit.

OPG’s operational practice is to include any income derived from Universal Credit as a component of gross annual income when assessing applications for a 50% remission of fees. Applicants who were previously in receipt of Income-related Employment and Support Allowance but have been migrated to Universal Credit will therefore no longer be eligible for a full exemption of fees but they will be eligible for a 50% remission of fees provided their gross annual income does not exceed £12,000.

OPG has recently published updated guidance on the application process for an exemption or remission of fees which is available on Gov.UK. This includes a breakdown of the eligibility requirements for both an exemption and a 50% remission of fees and the evidence required to support the application. This includes instructions for applications where the applicant is in receipt of Universal Credit.

In the 2024 to 2025 financial year, OPG exempted or remitted fees for103,333 powers of attorney applications. The total value of fees exempted or remitted was £8.471 million.

OPG remains committed to ensuring that its services are accessible to everyone, which includes those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The Fees Regulations provide OPG with a discretionary power to reduce or remit fees further if the payment of a given fee would involve undue hardship to the applicant. Where applicants provide evidence that payment of OPG fees would incur significant financial hardship, OPG will agree to a reduction of the fee, taking into account the specific circumstances of the case.