OPG Deputy Standards documents
OPG’s standards for lay deputies, public authority deputies and professional deputies and guidance to advise on how they can meet those standards.
Assurance visits and deputy standards form an important part of the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) approach to supporting and supervising professional and public authority deputies.
Court of Protection visitors conducting assurance visits will refer to the published deputy standards when reporting findings and observations to OPG.
These documents are also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
Deputy Standards
These standards set out what is expected of lay, public authority and professional court appointed deputies and form a central part of OPG’s approach to supervising all three types of deputies.
Lay deputies
Lay deputies are usually friends or family members of the person who lacks capacity to make decisions for themselves.
Public authority deputies
If no family member is available, willing, or able to act as a deputy, the court may appoint a local authority or health body as a deputy; these are referred to as public authority deputies.
Professional deputies
Professional deputies are usually appointed when there is no family member available or willing to act as a deputy and there are more complex issues to manage.