“Your Voice, Your Decision” Campaign

‘search your voice your decision’ The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for England and Wales published a six year strategy to improve safeguarding of adults at risk in 2019. This included developing a fully online service for users to register a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal tool that allows you to appoint someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity. At Cartwright King, we can help you throughout the process of appointing your chosen attorney(s).

Call the experienced lawyers at Cartwright King Solicitors on 0800 999 2220 or request a call back online today and we will call you.

More adults than ever now have a registered LPA, EPA or Deputyship Court Order from the Court of Protection, the OPG wish to encourage more people to consider and make an LPA so that someone they trust can make decisions for them in case they lost mental capacity. One of their aims is to lower the average age of users and help more people from different backgrounds make LPAs. To do this, it intends to improve its online services.

Examples of when an LPA can be used are below:

Property and Finance

A property and finance lasting power of attorney gives someone you trust the power to make decisions about your money and property, for example:

• paying bills
• managing a bank or building society account
• collecting pensions or benefits
• selling your home

Health and Care

A health and care lasting power of attorney gives you the power to make decisions about things like:

• your daily routine – for example, washing, dressing and eating
• medical care
• moving in to a care home
• life-sustaining treatment

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for England and Wales also wish to encourage more people to be able to use the “search” facility to check that LPAs, EPAs and Deputyship Court Orders are valid. The Register of LPAs, EPAs and Deputyship Orders is now searchable by the general public. The OPG aim is to work more closely with safeguarding partners in the NHS and local authorities so that those involved in such areas, such as doctors, nurses and social workers, can check that the documentation they are presented with is valid.

The six year plan proposed by the OPG includes a national awareness campaign called “Your Voice, Your Decision”, which will encourage more people to plan for their future, and consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney sooner than they would normally do.

If you want to discuss in more detail call the experienced lawyers at Cartwright King Solicitors on 03458 941 622 or request a call back online today and we will call you.