NEW PUBLIC GUARDIAN APPOINTED

MARTIN JOHN has been appointed the new Public Guardian and Chief Executive of the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). John, who will succeed Richard Brook, has previous experience at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and more recently in business development for the new Tribunals Service. He will take up the post on 10 July 2008.

John states that his priority is “to work with staff and stakeholders to ensure customers receive the right services at the right time. The Office faces some key challenges in dealing with the processing of Lasting Powers of Attorney and extra resources have been brought in to tackle the delays and we are already seeing improvements,” he continued.

“Over the longer term, I will be reviewing how well the Office and the Mental Capacity Act are working overall and we will be engaging closely with customers and stakeholders on this.”

John will immediately have to deal with a barrage of criticism. The Conservatives have said they would be asking questions in Parliament and seeking a meeting with Justice Secretary Jack Straw amid mounting outrage about the delays at the Office of the Public Guardian.

Henry Bellingham, the Conservatives’ shadow Justice Minister, said he would be writing to Mr Straw calling for a review of the system.

He reportedly said: “We are being told by lawyers at the sharp end who are concerned about increasing costs and extra bureaucracy. It is a good example of the Government having the right intentions but failing to implement the policy through lack of proper planning, training and preparation.”