Record 200% increase in LPA rejections cost Brits £5 million upwards
New FOI (Freedom of Information) data has revealed a record 199% rise in LPA rejections in England and Wales in 2024 compared to 2021 – costing Brits an estimated £5 million and above*, according to analysis by private client law specialists WSP Solicitors.
The total bill for rejected Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) applications in England and Wales could have easily hit £4,963,164 last year based on LPA applicants paying at least half the fee (for those who can claim a part fee exemption based on income or benefits earning less than £12k per year) – but in reality could be even higher for those with full fee applications.
The huge sum comes as applications reached record levels in 2023/24, with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) receiving 1,490,294 submissions, up from 708,314 in 2020/21. According to the Freedom of Information** request made to the OPG by WSP Solicitors, of the nearly 1.5 million applications, 133,760 (almost 10%) were rejected.
Currently, LPA registrations cost £82 per application before the fee increases to £92 on 17 November, but if an application is rejected and you fail to reapply within three months, the full cost will be charged every time.
The OPG is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) that protects people who lack the mental capacity to make their own health and financial decisions, as well as supervising deputies appointed by the Court of Protection. Deputies are appointed when a person is judged under the Mental Health Act to be unable to make decisions for themselves and doesn’t have either an LPA or its predecessor, an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), in place.
In England and Wales there are two types of LPA, one for protecting an individuals’ health and welfare decisions and another which looks after their property and finances.
LPA trends
As part of their investigation analysing the Office’s most recent annual report, WSP Solicitors also uncovered trends which include a surprising 204% national increase in the number of 18-24 year old applicants seeking protections and a 217% increase in 25-34 year old applicants.
Latest increase in LPA Applications in England and Wales by age
RANK
INCREASE
TOTAL QUANTITY
APPLICANT AGE GROUP
1
228%
239,625
55-64
2
220%
510,772
65-74
3
217%
9,145
25-34
4
214%
26,352
35-44
5
212%
407,423
65-74
6
205%
70,849
45-54
7
204%
3,378
18-24
8
152%
227,941
85+
Age wasn’t the only area of interest, the law firm also found that female applicants remain higher than male, with an average of 35.5% more registrations each year over the same period.
When looking at the two different types of LPAs, further investigation of the data revealed Health and Welfare applications (687,796) continue to fall behind Finance and Property (807,974,) but still grew by 216% and 203% respectively.
Rob Selwood, Co-Head of Wills, Trusts and Probate at WSP Solicitors said: “The data shows there has been a huge increase in overall LPA applications since 2020, which is likely due to increased media and social media exposure leading to greater public awareness of these types of protections. It’s encouraging to see later life planning is becoming more of a priority across younger age groups too, which may also be a consequence of younger generations being more IT literate.
“On the other hand, the results aren’t so surprising in terms of the popularity of the different types of LPA being applied for. The use of LPAs is usually the first port of call as the powers are available to the attorneys to assist the donor with everyday matters such as paying bills – if they are deemed not to have sufficient capacity to make the decision.”
Despite a significant increase in the total number of applications over the last four financial years, waiting times are continuing to fall. Last year approvals took 48 days on average, including the mandatory cooling off period of 28 days – still above the OPG’s own target of 40 days. Worryingly where investigations were needed, completions took nearly double the 70 day target at 138 working days.
