Published: 27 October 2008
Review of impact of Mental Capacity Act
Plans to reduce the fees and simplify the forms for people making Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) were part of proposals announced last week in a public consultation by Public Guardian Martin John.
This consultation is the first stage of a wider review by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) into how well the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) (2005) is working.
The proposals include plans to:
- reduce the fee for registering LPAs from £150 to £120
- redesign the LPA form & guidance notes to be clearer & more logical, with guidance notes incorporated in the form itself
- introduce a new level of supervision of court-appointed deputies to give short-term support and scrutiny where needed
Bridget Prentice, Justice Minister said:
"The Mental Capacity Act is an important piece of legislation that enables people to plan for the future, and helps protect the most vulnerable people in society.
This welcome review will ensure the law continues to deliver what people need."
Public Guardian Martin John said:
"We have listened to our customers and brought forward these proposals to make real improvements. But this is just the first phase of our wider work to review how effective the implementation of the Act has been and what else we can do to make a real difference to our users."
Rosie Varley, the first chair of the Public Guardian Board which scrutinises the Public Guardian said:
"I am pleased that OPG have started the review, which will address many of the issues raised in our first annual report published earlier this month.
As I said then, the first year of operation has been very tough, but lessons have been learned. I look forward to our next report when I hope to see some of the measures outlined in the review being introduced."
Some of these changes will be introduced from April 2009. The review is a long-standing public commitment to be carried out one year after the Act came into force.
The consultation will end on 15 January 2009.
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