LPA registration speeding up - but complaints taking longer to resolve

Lasting powers of attorney are being registered quicker – but they are still taking significantly longer than the Office of the Public Guardian’s target, the government has revealed.

Last month justice minister Tom Pursglove said the average time to register an LPA was 81.8 days. The OPG’s target is 40 days.

This week, he revealed in a written parliamentary response that the average time taken to register an LPA between 1 June 2021 and 31 May was 73 days. The processing time was 39 days between 1 June 2018 and 31 May 2019.

‘It should be noted that OPG must carry out checks on receipt of the LPA before notices are issued, and then must observe a statutory waiting period of 4 weeks to allow for objections before the registration process can be completed. This statutory waiting period cannot be waived and is included in the calculation for the number of days to register an LPA,’ he said.

‘OPG know that delays are frustrating for customers, and they are committed to reducing the time it is currently taking to register LPAs,’ he said.

However, in another parliamentary response, he revealed that the backlog in processing LPAs has affected the OPG’s ability to respond to complaints within its target of 10 working days.

‘OPG understands the importance of customers receiving timely responses to complaints. In order to improve the service that is provided, OPG has recruited more staff to process LPAs and to respond to complaints, which is already having a positive impact on the length of time customers wait to receive a response,’ Pursglove said.

In May, the government unveiled plans to modernise LPAs and speed up the registration process. A statutory waiting period will remain as part of the objections process for registering an LPA. However, the government will investigate what the appropriate length should be in a future service, accounting for other changes to the objections process across digital and paper channels.