Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on whether NHS trusts have refused to engage with the legal representative of a patient on the grounds of being unable to verify a power of attorney in person.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Mental Health Act 1983 and their respective statutory codes of practice lay out the guidance for National Health Service trusts regarding Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) and Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA), including verification through the Office of Public Guardian (OPG).

The OPG provides online guidance on the verification of an LPA and EPA on the GOV.UK website, which is available to NHS trusts. This includes the online “Use and View an LPA” service for LPAs registered on or after 1 January 2016. This service allows attorneys to provide a digital access code through which organisations, including NHS trusts, can digitally verify that the LPA is registered, and view details of the attorneys authorised to act. The OPG guidance also provides that if the LPA cannot be shared via the “Use and View an LPA” service, an attorney may present an office or certified paper copy to the institution, to use the LPA.

NHS trusts are also bound by the Equality Act 2010 to make relevant reasonable adjustments where appropriate which would cover attorneys acting under an LPA.

The Department does not hold information on individual LPA or EPA verification outcomes in NHS trusts.