The Court of Protection and Public Guardianship Office

The Court of Protection (COP) is an office of the Supreme Court that looks after the financial affairs of people who are mentally incapable of looking after their own affairs.  This may be as a result of sustaining a head injury following a road traffic accident, an accident at work, clinical negligence, or criminal assault.

The Public Guardianship Office (PGO) is the administrative arm of the Court of Protection and an agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was established on the 1st of April 2001.

The PGO are responsible for providing services which promote the financial and social well being of people with mental incapacity.

Some people with learning difficulties, or mental illness, may also be clients of the PGO. The PGO support the families and advisers of the person who is incapable, often after someone has applied to the Court of Protection to manage the incapacitated person's financial affairs.

An application is made to the Court to appoint a Receiver/Deputy to manage and administer the person's affairs if the Court accepts that they are unable to do so themselves. A Receiver may be a lay Receiver such as a family member or a Professional Receiver, often a solicitor or accountant.  The Receiver is appointed to act in the best interests of the person incapable of managing their own affairs and to ensure that they are not expolited. The person appointed has a duty to account to the PGO in relation to the management of the person's affairs.

If you have any queries regarding the Court of Protection or PGO, please do not hesitate to contact Debra Kirwan at Ralli on 0870 998 9000,  or to request information online click here.