Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards the Government has in place to protect donors when appointing professionals as attorneys in the event of the firm such attorneys work for being closed down.

When a solicitor’s firm is closed voluntarily, it should make arrangements with its clients regarding any ongoing work, and to arrange for the return of clients' papers and money. If the firm is closed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Authority will appoint Intervention Agents to deal with the firm and contact all of its clients.

The closure of a firm will not of itself invalidate the ongoing appointment of any of its members as an attorney. The appointment of an attorney is personal to that individual. It is a matter for the donor at any time to remove the attorney, if they still have capacity, or for the Court of Protection. If the donor wished, the appointment would remain even if the attorney moved to another firm.