The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has updated its guidance on how to request a search of its registers.
OPG has published a new practice note to make clearer how it handles and shares information held on its registers of lasting and enduring powers of attorney and court-appointed deputies.
It explains the approach OPG takes to its legal duty to establish and maintain registers as set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Lasting Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Public Guardian Regulations 2007.
Anyone can ask for a search of OPG’s registers by completing an OPG100 search form. This is a free service.
The OPG100 search form has changed so that you can ask for additional information at the same time as requesting to search OPG’s registers. This is to avoid the need to ask for two separate search requests. The donor’s address and date of birth must also now be provided as an additional safeguard. We hope this approach will speed up the search process and avoid any delays.
If there is a reasonable, justified reason or a legal basis, OPG will share additional information. For example, we prioritise requests that support safeguarding of vulnerable adults and the statutory duties of other public authorities, such as social services or the police
