Parents Against Injustice
Parents Against Injustice
COURT OF PROTECTION TO BE OPENED UP TO THE MEDIA
One of Britain’s most secret courts is set to be opened up to the media in a move that could boost public confidence after widespread criticism of its workings.
The Court of Protection, which looks after the affairs of people suffering from mental incapacity, hears most of its cases in private and has been the target of hundreds of complaints.
People applying to manage the affairs of elderly or vulnerable relatives have found the court — and, in particular, its administrative arm, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) — bureaucratic, complex and intrusive.
However, Denzil Lush, the senior judge in charge of the running of the court at Archway, North London, has told The Times that he would favour bringing it into line with the rest of family courts and allowing media access, subject to reporting restrictions.
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He said: “I don’t have a problem with the media being present. There would, however, have to be anonymity for the vulnerable elderly people involved, the details of whose financial affairs were being exposed. I don’t think that they would want that all over the newspapers.”
Sir Mark Potter, the most senior family judge and president of the Court of Protection, last month set up a review of its rules and media access is expected to be on the agenda.
A test case is also looming over media access to the court, which has assigned responsibility to relatives and friends to manage assets for vulnerable people totalling about £3.2 billion.
The Court of Appeal is to hear an appeal over media access to a hearing involving a severely disabled adult. In November Mr Justice Hedley granted permission for the media to attend hearings. The Official Solicitor is arguing that the hearing should remain private.
Judge Lush said: “Probably there should be a change in emphasis, to bring the Court of Protection in line with the family courts.”
There was also an inconsistency, he added, in that the court heard many cases involving the management of big medical negligence or road accident awards and the details of those were often already in the public domain.
In a wide-ranging interview Judge Lush also said that abuse of the mentally vulnerable was on the increase, from low-level expenses claims to outright fraud. “We had one case in which a son was charging 31p mileage to see his elderly mother three times a week,” he said. “Then, at the other end of the scale, you have those who run off with millions.”
He said that the abuse amounted to between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of all cases, adding: “It is a growing problem, probably reflecting the demographics of an ageing population, with more people living longer and more people having to take charge of their affairs.
“Sometimes it stems from concern that an elderly person’s savings may be all eaten up in care home fees, so a relative decides to take steps to pre-empt that.”
At the other end of the spectrum, Judge Lush described a case in which a young woman with bipolar disorder had to be removed from her family because she was being abused by her male relatives.
The OPG was set up as a new watchdog to look after the affairs of people who lack mental capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The Act created a new “lasting power of attorney”. But the forms and procedures have been criticised as bureaucratic and costly.
Alongside the office, a new Court of Protection was set up to decide if people lack capacity to make decisions for themselves, to make orders for those people, to appoint and remove deputies to manage their affairs and to hear appeals and settle disputes.
At present the court receives 1,800 applications a month, all handled by judges. The average time to reach a hearing is 14 weeks. The court has three full-time judges but the number will be doubled from next April.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6974606.ece
The Court of Protection, which looks after the affairs of people suffering from mental incapacity, hears most of its cases in private and has been the target of hundreds of complaints.
People applying to manage the affairs of elderly or vulnerable relatives have found the court — and, in particular, its administrative arm, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) — bureaucratic, complex and intrusive.
However, Denzil Lush, the senior judge in charge of the running of the court at Archway, North London, has told The Times that he would favour bringing it into line with the rest of family courts and allowing media access, subject to reporting restrictions.
Related Links
* Court of Protection losing public confidence
* Communication is a vital skill for children
* Football boss in brothel story tests privacy laws
He said: “I don’t have a problem with the media being present. There would, however, have to be anonymity for the vulnerable elderly people involved, the details of whose financial affairs were being exposed. I don’t think that they would want that all over the newspapers.”
Sir Mark Potter, the most senior family judge and president of the Court of Protection, last month set up a review of its rules and media access is expected to be on the agenda.
A test case is also looming over media access to the court, which has assigned responsibility to relatives and friends to manage assets for vulnerable people totalling about £3.2 billion.
The Court of Appeal is to hear an appeal over media access to a hearing involving a severely disabled adult. In November Mr Justice Hedley granted permission for the media to attend hearings. The Official Solicitor is arguing that the hearing should remain private.
Judge Lush said: “Probably there should be a change in emphasis, to bring the Court of Protection in line with the family courts.”
There was also an inconsistency, he added, in that the court heard many cases involving the management of big medical negligence or road accident awards and the details of those were often already in the public domain.
In a wide-ranging interview Judge Lush also said that abuse of the mentally vulnerable was on the increase, from low-level expenses claims to outright fraud. “We had one case in which a son was charging 31p mileage to see his elderly mother three times a week,” he said. “Then, at the other end of the scale, you have those who run off with millions.”
He said that the abuse amounted to between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of all cases, adding: “It is a growing problem, probably reflecting the demographics of an ageing population, with more people living longer and more people having to take charge of their affairs.
“Sometimes it stems from concern that an elderly person’s savings may be all eaten up in care home fees, so a relative decides to take steps to pre-empt that.”
At the other end of the spectrum, Judge Lush described a case in which a young woman with bipolar disorder had to be removed from her family because she was being abused by her male relatives.
The OPG was set up as a new watchdog to look after the affairs of people who lack mental capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The Act created a new “lasting power of attorney”. But the forms and procedures have been criticised as bureaucratic and costly.
Alongside the office, a new Court of Protection was set up to decide if people lack capacity to make decisions for themselves, to make orders for those people, to appoint and remove deputies to manage their affairs and to hear appeals and settle disputes.
At present the court receives 1,800 applications a month, all handled by judges. The average time to reach a hearing is 14 weeks. The court has three full-time judges but the number will be doubled from next April.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6974606.ece
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