MPs hear call to end ‘alarming’ abuse of elderly through powers of attorney

An MP has tabled a Bill to end the “appalling injustice” of older people being victimised by “unscrupulous individuals” through Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA).

Labour MP Fabian Hamilton said the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is not going far enough to safeguard older people at risk of having their estates stolen.

The OPG polices the deputies, lawyers and guardians who act to protect the financial affairs of people with decreased mental capacity.

Mr Hamilton, MP for Leeds North East, said the body can “prove to be toothless” for vulnerable elderly people and their family members raising the alarm on their behalf.

Introducing a Bill on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) under the 10-minute rule procedure in the Commons, Mr Hamilton told stories from his constituents whose family members had been economically abused.

Mr Hamilton told MPs of a woman whose widowed father was targeted by a woman who sought to “systematically remove” his family from his life.

He said: “Her father was taken to a registry office, where the woman tried to marry him, but the registrar refused, saying that he did not have the capacity as he couldn’t even answer a basic question, such as giving his own home address.

“And a week later, a solicitor signed a piece of paper that gave her LPA over his finances, his property, health and welfare, and the power to completely remove his daughter, Carolyn, from his life altogether.”

Mr Hamilton also raised the case of Anne, who he said was removed as her partner’s LPA “because the Office of the Public Guardian had received two partial deeds of revocation apparently signed by him”.

He said: “However, for at least the previous year, owing to Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia, he’d been unable to even sign a check.

“This was reported to the Office of the Public Guardian, where Anne was denied access to a screenshot of her partner’s signature to verify.

“For two years, the Office of the Public Guardian was unhelpful and consistently slow to respond to Anne.

“Her testimony shows how these protective bodies often prove to be toothless to those who need them most.”

Mr Hamilton has tabled legislation to prevent older people from being targeted through marriage by people aiming to gain control of their estate.

He said: “I have also been made aware of shocking cases involving a lodger getting an LPA over their landlord providing that individual with access to thousands in savings and the ability to re-mortgage, or even a man who could not sign his own name whose LPA was signed away using just a fingerprint.

“Whilst the scale of this abuse is already alarming, and the simplification of obtaining Lasting Power of Attorney is proving to be fuelling the fire, I am sure there are more as yet unknown victim-survivors, but this Bill is focused on prevention, removing the incentive for unscrupulous individuals to take advantage of vulnerable older people.”

Mr Hamilton added that 90% of safeguarding cases raised to the OPG resulted in “no action”.

He said: “The abuse I’ve described is clearly widespread, cases from up and down the country are becoming more evident everyday.

“I believe it’s time we acted to prevent such appalling injustice.”

The proposed Bill would place duties on banks to contact a GP before signing LPAs and make provisions about the powers of the OPG to investigate the actions of an attorney.

It would also require the Secretary of State to review the effectiveness of the powers of the OPG in investigating an attorney’s actions and legislate on the duties of care homes to protect vulnerable residents.

The Bill is listed for a second reading on January 17 2025 but it is unlikely to make further progress without Government support due to a lack of parliamentary time to debate all Private Member’s Bills.