OPG reports big cut in PoA delays, but rejections still high

A significant reduction in the processing time for powers of attorney documents has been reported by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

Over the summer applicants for registration faced delays of up to three months, due to a 40% rise in the number of applications oer the past two years. However measures including the temporary hiring of additional agency staff have seen progressive reductions in waiting times during the autumn, and OPG said today that it is currently processing powers of attorney received on 28 November, or eight working days later, against its target of 30 working days.

However the rejection rate due to defects in applications "continues to be high", with 15.3% of applications received during October having to be returned (1,653 out of 10,823 processed). OPG will be carrying out an exercise in the new year to identify and contact solicitors who carry a high rejection rate of PoAs.

One of the most common rejection reasons is when the names detailed in the PoA document do not exactly match those stated in the schedule 1 certificate.