New Public Guardian and Chief Executive of the Office of the Public Guardian appointed.
Martin John has been appointed the new Public Guardian and Chief Executive of the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), Justice Minister Bridget Prentice announced today.
Martin John will succeed Richard Brook. Martin has extensive experience of leading the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and more recently in Business Development for the new Tribunals Service. Although Martin does not formally take up post until Richard leaves on 10 July 2008, he is working alongside Richard, the current postholder, with immediate effect.
Bridget Prentice said:
“Richard Brook made an enormous contribution to implementing the Mental Capacity Act and in setting up the Office of the Public Guardian.
“I am pleased that Martin will now be leading the organisation and continuing with the work to deal with the significant workload at the OPG.”
Martin John said:
“I am delighted to be appointed as Public Guardian and Chief Executive of the OPG. Over the coming weeks my priority is to work with staff and stakeholders to ensure customers receive the right services at the right time.
“The Office faces some key challenges in dealing with the processing of Lasting Powers of Attorney and extra resources have been brought in to tackle the delays and we are already seeing improvements.
“Over the longer term, I will be reviewing how well the Office and the Mental Capacity Act are working overall and we will be engaging closely with customers and stakeholders on this.”