To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many reported cases of fraud reported to the Office of the Public Guardian have been related to a Power of Attorney in the last five years; and how many of those cases resulted in (a) further action or (b) reference to the Court of Protection in that period.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many reported cases of fraud reported to the Office of the Public Guardian relating Power of Attorney were passed to the police or the CPS from the Office of the Public Guardian on the death of the alleged victim in the last five years.

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has been recording data since April 2021 on concerns raised about Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) that mention fraud. Since April 2021, there have been 178 initial concerns that mention fraud. OPG carry out investigations following reports of fraud and act where they have the jurisdiction to do so.

From April 2019 to 31 October 2022, 15 fraudulently created LPAs were removed from the register following investigation. In 10 of these cases, the Public Guardian removed the LPA from the register. The Public Guardian referred the remaining 5 cases to the Court of Protection, which led to LPAs being subsequently removed. Fraudulent LPAs currently represent less than 0.1% of all registered LPAs, which exceed 6 million.

The OPG records the number of reported cases of fraud, but not the number that are passed to the police or the CPS on the death of an alleged victim. The OPG’s legal authority ends upon the death of a donor (the individual who has created the LPA). As a result, where there is alleged fraud following the death of a donor, OPG would advise the concern raiser to raise their concern directly with the police if they feel it is appropriate.

The Government has in the past weeks taken steps to strengthen protections against fraud in LPAs yet further. The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) Bill, introduced by Stephen Metcalfe MP, will bring forward government proposals to make the system quicker, easier to access and more secure for the thousands of people who rely on an LPA every year. This includes a new requirement to verify identity through official documents, such as a driving licence, passport and a pension or benefits letter, helping to prevent the registration of lasting powers of attorney created by strangers through fraud by false representation. The Bill will also allow third parties to raise objections where those close to the case are concerned and provide that all objections go to the Public Guardian in the first instance. The Public Guardian will then apply the appropriate test to determine whether to register the lasting power of attorney.