What a mess! The Court of Protection seems here (from what the daughter said, not contested by the judge) to have actively worked against P’s best interests. It cannot possibly have been in his best interests have his bank account frozen for more than three years – when the money could almost certainly have been invested and gained better interest elsewhere and debts would have been paid.
Tag Archives: Transparency
Learning from five nonagenarians: Can we avoid becoming a “P” in the Court of Protection in our old age?
In a single month, I observed five hearings involving nonagenarians – people in their nineties. I can’t imagine that anyone would choose to be involved – or to have their family members involved – in Court of Protection proceedings as they approach the end of their life. I’m not sure, though, having considered these five cases carefully (and looked at others we’ve blogged about) that there’s much we can do to avoid it.
A public interest case with significant redactions
This case will return to court on a day I can’t tell you before a judge I can’t name. To find the case, you’ll need to look at the listings for a hearing centre I can’t tell you, and ask to observe the case by reference to case number that I can’t give you.
Systems-generated trauma and closed proceedings: Hywel Dda University Health Board v P & Anor [2024] EWCOP 70 (T3)
The published judgment is the formal public version of what happened to Zoe and her daughter, as told from the perspective of a Court of Protection judge in July 2024. This is Zoe’s story (and mine, as I experienced the court proceedings alongside her).
Applying for a statutory will: Observation and personal experience
In 2022, I applied for a statutory will on behalf of my sister, Polly Kitzinger, who has an acquired brain injury dating from a car crash back in 2009. It was a simple and uncontested case. The judge decided it on the papers, without a hearing.
Positive Obligations under Article 5 and The Attorney General’s Reference to the UKSC
The AIRE Centre is a specialist human rights legal charity, which uses the power of European law to protect individual and collective fundamental rights [The AIRE Centre]. The AIRE Centre intervened in Cheshire West and applied to intervene in the AG’s Reference but was refused permission.
Renal Failure Case Returns: Dialysis problems and Barnet’s non-compliance with a court order
Non-compliance from the public body was dealt with by judicial expressions of incomprehension (“I’m struggling to understand…”) about the Local Authority’s failure to act and about their failure to apologise for not doing so. This led to an acknowledgement of (some) fault by Barnet…
Contact Restrictions between P and their Family in the Court of Protection: How Decisions Are Made
Contact is a recurring issue in Court of Protection proceedings. I have been working in this area for eight years and my rough estimate would be that a dispute around contact (justified or otherwise) has arisen in around 30-40% of the cases I work on.
The well-recognised wish to go home
For many people with dementia, the emotional connection with home remains long after the dwindling of the memory that the physical space is no longer accessible. It can be distressing when care staff do not understand or are perceived of obstructing attempts to return to that place. But none of this changes the desire to be home, and none of this changes the possibility that the care home can become a place that one might see as home.
Hoarding: P is removed from his home by court order with no suitable alternative accommodation provided
At the time of the hearing, P is living in a local hotel at his own expense. The LA has been unable to find suitable accommodation for him locally and after considering the alternative (a flat more than an hour away from his home) the judge ruled he should stay where he is.
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 