The Mental Capacity Act, the Office of the Public Guardian and the new Court of Protectio
| Pages | 39-46 |
| Published date | 01 August 2007 |
| Date | 01 August 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200700020 |
| Author | Yeslin Gearty |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 9 Issue 3 • August 2007 © Pavilion Publishing (Journals) Limited 39
key words
Mental Capacity Act, mental
capacity, Office of the
Public Guardian, Court of
Protection, deputyship,
lasting powers of attorney
abstract
Monday 1 October sees the
implementation of the majority of
the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (the
Act). Parts of the Act came into
operation in April 2007, namely the
creation of a new criminal offence
of wilful neglect or ill treatment, the
provision of Independent Mental
Capacity Advocates (IMCAs) in
England, and the Code of Practice
governing the Act.
The months leading up to
October have been an exceptionally
busy time for the Public
Guardianship Office (PGO). The new
legislation creates a new Office of
the Public Guardian (OPG), which
will replace the existing PGO. But
there is more to this change than a
simple re-arrangement of words, as
shown in this article.
What the PGO does now
Receivership
The PGO is an executive agency of the newly created Ministry
of Justice (formerly the Department for Constitutional
Affairs). It was established in April 2001 and replaced the
Public Trust Office. The PGO employs over 400 full time staff
and receives over 10,000 receivership applications and over
20,000 applications to register enduring powers of attorney
every year.
The PGO is responsible for ensuring the well-being of
people who lack the capacity to manage their own financial
affairs and for providing administrative support to the Court
of Protection. A large part of the work involves the
appointment and supervision of receivers. Receivership
services are aimed at clients who are not able to manage their
financial affairs because they lack mental capacity. This lack of
capacity may be the result of an accident or negligence eg. a
brain injury, mental illness such as, schizophrenia, being
learning disabled or the result of dementia. Dementia is the
condition that affects the majority of our clients, most of
whom are older people. A receiver is the person appointed by
the Court to manage the financial affairs of the person who
lacks the capacity to do so themselves. They are usually a close
relative or friend, but can be anyone who is concerned about
protecting the assets of the person who is unable to manage
their own property and affairs.
The Court will usually appoint a receiver when a client has
more than £16,000 in cash after payment of debts and/or
The Mental Capacity Act,
the Office of the Public
Guardian and the new
Court of Protection Yeslin Gearty
Mental Capacity Act Implementation Team,
Public Guardianship Office
Policy
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