Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have applied for but not yet received a Lasting Power of Attorney..

At 3 March 2023, a total of 401,196 applications for a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) were being processed by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). This included 163,279 applications that were in the statutory four-week waiting period for any objections to be lodged prior to registration. At 3 March 2023, the OPG had already registered 809,675 applications for an LPA in 2022/23. These figures exclude the registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney which, while valid, have been replaced by LPAs since the Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into effect.

Customers are currently advised to allow up to 20 weeks for an LPA application to be processed, including the four-week waiting period. The OPG target to register LPAs is within an average of eight weeks. OPG staff are working day and night to register LPAs and extra staff have been hired, which is increasing the number of LPAs being registered each month.

The government is also supporting the Powers of Attorney Bill which will enable a digitalised LPA application process, leading to a faster and simpler service for applicants in future.