Two Practice Notes have been published by the Official Solicitor, Sarah Castle, setting out important practicalities relating the appointment of the Official Solicitor as litigation friend of the person concerned (“P”) in the Court of Protection and requests by the court to the Official Solicitor to act as, or appoint counsel to act as an advocate to the court. Both are dated 3 February 2021. One note deals with health and welfare proceedings, and the other with property and affairs proceedings.
This serves also as a useful opportunity to remind people of the resources available on the Court of Protection Handbook website, including the following:
- A basic guide to the Court of Protection written by Victoria Butler-Cole QC, Sarah Castle, Jakki Cowley and Alex Ruck Keene, which can be found here.
- A glossary of words and phrases used in the Court of Protection (by the same authors), which can be found here.
- A guide by Jakki Cowley called “You’re going to a welfare hearing at the Court of Protection – what does this mean for you?,” which can be found here.
- An easy read guide, focusing on participation and written by Dr Jaime Lindsey of the University of Essex, which can be found here.
A guide to remote hearings has been produced by the Transparency Project. It is designed for those attending family proceedings, but has practical information which may be equally useful to those attending hearings before the Court of Protection.