Length of welfare guardianship orders granted
Our interest in these figures
We have raised concerns in previous reports about the high percentage of orders granted on an indefinite basis. Our concern is that the lack of automatic, periodic judicial scrutiny of approved orders puts the onus on the individual to challenge an order. We don't think this is in keeping with accepted standards of justice. This is perhaps most evident in relation to how welfare guardianship is used for people with learning disability. We continue to discuss this with the Scottish Government.
What we found
The level of indefinite guardianship orders remained at the same level as last year at 71%. Last year, 65% of all orders granted for people with learning disability were granted on an indefinite basis. 76% of those with learning disability were under the age of 65 and 46% were under the age of 25. As the law stands, these are orders which need not be judicially reviewed during the lifetime of these adults. It is our view that this is an affront to natural justice which must be addressed.
One effect of the granting of orders on an indefinite basis is the impact on the number of extant welfare guardianship orders. While the growth in new orders was just over 9% last year, the growth in extant orders as of 31 March 2009 was 23%.
Annual reports
- directors introduction
- overview of the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 introduction
- new orders granted in 2008-09
- total numbers of 2003 Act orders in existence
- monitoring our priority areas
- additional findings from our monitoring of mental health law
- our overview of the use of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
- our overview of the use of Adults With Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
- trends in the use of welfare guardianship
- geographical variations in the use of welfare guardianship
- causes of incapacity in guardianship
- age of adults at point of welfare guardianship order approval
length of welfare guardianship orders granted
- consent to medical treatment (part 5 AWI)
- our scrutiny of approved welfare guardianship
- welfare guardianship for adults under 25
- proposals for legislative change