The government has no plans to update its online Use an LPA service to incorporate the 1.4 million lasting powers of attorney on the register that are ineligible to be used with the system.
A further 337,000 enduring powers of attorney are incompatible with the system, and there are no plans to extend the service to support these EPAs.
In a written response to a question from Conservative MP Shivani Raja, Catherine Atkinson, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for justice, confirmed the number of LPAs and EPAs that are ineligible for use with Use an LPA, which include all LPAs registered prior to 2016.
Pre-2016 LPAs were processed on a legacy Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) case management system which is not compatible with Use an LPA “without significant manual intervention”, she explained.
The use of EPAs was discontinued in 2007 and there are no plans to incorporate them into the Use an LPA service.
Responding to Ravi’s concerns of barriers faced by attorneys holding pre-digital PoAs who have disabilities or caring responsibilities that prevent them from providing physical documentation to third parties on request, Atkinson said it is for individual third parties to determine how they accept such evidence, which may include digital options.
She continued: “OPG engages with organisations and companies which may interact with attorneys and support stakeholders to understand the various ways in which the validity or details of an LPA may be checked.
“OPG’s recently refreshed guide, ‘Supporting customers who may not be able to make their own decisions’, was published jointly with the UK Regulators Network and is designed to promote a more consistent customer experience.”
There are around 9.34 million LPAs and EPAs on the register, according to the OPG’s annual report and accounts for 2024-25.
The OPG holds 1,393,114 LPAs registered before 1 January 2016 that remain on the register but are not available through the Use an LPA service. There are 337,081 EPAs currently on the register which are not available through the Use an LPA service.
