The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), established in October 2007, supports the Public Guardian in registering Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA), Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) and supervising Deputies appointed by the Court of Protection.
The OPG is an agency of the Ministry of Justice. The OPG helps and supports Attorneys and Deputies in carrying out their duties, protects people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. The OPG also has responsibility for policy issues relating to the Mental Capacity Act and in relation to mental capacity issues generally.
- The Office of the Public Guardian has six business areas
- Equality and Diversity Statement
- Developing our staff
The Office of the Public Guardian has six business areas:
- The Customer Contact Centre
- Applications and Processing
- The Court of Protection Administration team
- Supervision
- Finance and Resources
- Performance and Change
The Customer Contact Centre
This is the first point of contact between the OPG and its service users. Staff provide guidance and information about EPA and LPA processes, the role of the OPG and the Court, and other organisations and agencies that might be able to provide further, more specialised, help and advice.They also provide guidance and support to Deputies appointed by the Court. Most communications are by telephone, but the Contact Centre also deals with correspondence and emails.
Applications and Processing
This is the largest business area and is responsible for handling all EPA and LPA registrations, collecting reports, and providing services that support the functions of the rest of the OPG and the Court, namely records management, post opening and delivery.
The Court of Protection Administration team
This team is responsible for processing all aspects of applications made to the Court. They provide administrative support for the Court of Protection judges who make court orders appointing Deputies to make decisions on behalf of those who lack capacity to make decisions themselves, or orders setting out decisions made by the court where a deputy is not needed.
They work closely with the Judiciary in Archway and the Judiciary and Her Majesty's Court Service in England and Wales to provide a local and accessible service for court users. Their duties include record keeping, a variety of drafting, collation of evidence and provision of specialist guidance through the contact centre as well as planning for attended hearings, supporting and ushering attendees and liaising with regional courts and the Royal Courts of Justice on emergency applications.
Supervision
The staff in Supervision receive and record details of all new deputies appointed by the Court, and carry out an assessment on each case to determine the level of supervision it will require from the OPG. They supervise Deputies according to the supervision level allocated, with some cases receiving a light touch approach, while others having a more proactive, detailed case management programme.
The Visits team are responsible for overseeing the Court of Protection Visitors who visit clients in their own homes and provide reports to the Court and the OPG. The Investigations team handle any complaints regarding the delivery of services by the OPG.
Finance and Resources
Finance and Resources is responsible for the organisation's accounting, financial management and corporate governance processes, including the management of third party services such as IT, HR and Facilities. It collects fees from users of the OPG's services, as set out by Parliament, and accounts for income and expenditure for both the Court and for the OPG.
It is also responsible for managing the performance of contracted services and ensure that relevant agreements are developed, monitored and adhered to.
Performance and Change
This team monitors the performance of the OPG and is responsible for communicating with stakeholders and raising awareness of the organisation with the public and with other organisations.
It is also responsible for OPG Governance arrangements, managing change within the organisation, marketing and communications, strategy, policy and the provision of legal advice to the Public Guardian, especially with regard to health and welfare. It also provides learning and development opportunities for staff to develop their knowledge and skills.
Equality and diversity statement
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) aims to be representative of the culture and values of all of the communities we serve. We will:
- treat all our customers and colleagues with dignity and respect.
- strive to learn from each other and be open and inclusive to all.
We are also committed to ensuring equality for people with disabilities (as defined by the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 (DDA)) that apply for roles within the OPG.
The OPG follows the 
Ministry of Justice Disability Equality Scheme 2008 -20011.
Developing our staff
The OPG aims to develop staff to give an effective contribution to delivering our services and achieving their potential. We will support learning and development through courses, workshops, providing learning materials and opportunities to enable staff to acquire knowledge and develop skills necessary to perform their role efficiently and effectively. All employees are offered opportunities for learning and development to enable them to meet:
- agreed job objectives and performance standards;
- agreed development objectives;
- departmental policy on Equality and Diversity;
- health and safety standards.
The programme will meet the Investors in People standard.