Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the appropriateness of the duties of care homes in relation to Lasting Powers of Attorney for residents.

Evidence indicates the overall scale of abuse using lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) is low. There were just over 8 million powers of attorney on the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) register in 2023/24. It completed investigations into around 2,800. 597 cases resulted in either court action or a requirement for the attorney to complete remedial action. In that context, a specific assessment at this time of the duties on care homes in relation to LPAs would not be a proportionate response.

Anyone, including care home management or staff, who has a concern about how an LPA has been made or used should raise this with the OPG. The OPG has processes to investigate such issues and take appropriate action where necessary.

Under the Care Act, where a local authority has reasonable cause to suspect that an adult in the local authority’s area has needs for care and support and appears to be at risk of, or experiencing abuse or neglect, and is unable to protect themselves as a result of those needs, the local authority must carry out a safeguarding enquiry. Where necessary, this would include raising concerns with OPG for investigation where a property and affairs LPA is in place, and they believe it has been used to perpetrate abuse.