To ask the Minister of Justice for an update on the current workload of the Office of Care and Protection in relation to Enduring Powers of Attorney registrations; and (ii) to detail any plans she has to (a) streamline; or (b) digitise this process.

(i) Statistics on the workload of the Office of Care and Protection (OCP) in relation to Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) applications for registration are provided in the table below.

The statistics demonstrate that, between 2018 and 2023, there has been an increase in applications of over 37%. The OCP target is to register 95% of EPA applications received, where no objection has been lodged, within 40 days of receipt of the required information. Currently, OCP is achieving a rate of 97%.

(ii) While the OCP administers the registration of EPAs, the substantive law contained in the Enduring Powers of Attorney (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 is the responsibility of the Department of Finance. Any review of the 1987 Order or streamlining of the registration process would therefore be a matter for the Minister of Finance to consider in conjunction with relevant stakeholders. However, to improve the experience for applicants, the EPA user guidance in relation to registration is currently in the process of being updated. In addition, the paper application forms needed to register an EPA are being redrafted in a digital format. It is anticipated that this will make the process more straightforward for applicants and improve efficiency. These forms will be available via NI Direct for downloading, printing and completion.