12-05-2025
Power of attorney applications system beset by year-long delay
Tens of thousands of people in Scotland seeking legal authority to make decisions on someone else's behalf are being left in limbo by an outdated system that the public servant overseeing it has declared is 'no longer fit for purpose'.
There are 67,500 power of attorney applications waiting to be processed, with a backlog that is taking nearly a year to deal with.
Applications are dealt with by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which is a department of the the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).
According to the OPG website, it is still dealing with applications from last May and June.
Adam Stachura, spokesman for Age Scotland, described the scale of this backlog as 'jaw-dropping'. He added: 'Power of attorney is
