Hansard

Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian (Amendment) Regulations

Volume 712: debated on Wednesday 15 July 2009

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Statement

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice
(Lord Bach)

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Bridget Prentice) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I have today laid before Parliament the Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian (Amendment) Regulations 2009.

Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian Regulations 2007 (2007 Regulations), set out the prescribed instruments that must be used to create a lasting power of attorney (LPA) for property and affairs or for personal welfare.

A consultation Reviewing the Mental Capacity Act 2005: forms, supervision and fees ran from 23 October 2008 until 15 January 2009. The consultation included draft LPA forms and invited comments on the revisions.

The forms underwent further revision to take on board comments received through consultation and further user testing has been undertaken with stakeholders and members of the public who had no prior knowledge of the forms.

The amendments to the 2007 regulations replace existing prescribed forms for instruments intended to create a property and affairs LPA or a personal welfare LPA with new prescribed forms. The titles of the new forms detour slightly from the terms used in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and are purely for presentational purposes. Property and affairs becomes property and financial affairs whilst personal welfare becomes health and welfare. Respondents to the consultation were in favour of the changes as they felt that they are a better description of the two types of LPAs.

It is intended that the new prescribed forms will be in place from 1 October 2009.

The Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian (Amendment) Regulations 2009 provide transitional arrangements for the use of the prescribed forms in the 2007 regulations provided the form is executed before 1 April 2011.

The Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian (Amendment) Regulations 2009 also make two minor changes to the 2007 regulations to correct errors.