Public Trust Office (Hansard, 18 January 2001)

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he has taken to 393W ensure that the funds transferred from a former client of the receivership division of the Public Trust Office to a nursing home owner under the special exercise relating to clients with less than £10,000 are subsequently applied for the benefit of the former client. [145684]

§ Jane Kennedy
Of the cases where the involvement of the Public Trust Office has ceased as a result of the review exercise, only four have had capital passed to a nursing home. The Public Trust Office ensures that strict criteria are applied before any proposals are put to the Court of Protection to transfer client's assets to a nursing home, to be applied for the client's benefit. A nursing home would be approached only in exceptional cases, where there is no one else suitable or willing to act. The circumstances of every case are considered individually. When the nursing home is approached, they are informed that the capital must be held in an account in the client's name. The home must also advise the Public Trust Office how they will monitor the account and what audit checks are in place to ensure proper use of the funds. All people of whom the Public Trust Office is aware, who have an interest in the client, as well as all relatives, are advised of the new arrangements. Each case is considered by the Court of Protection, which makes an order discharging the Public Trustee and pays the capital to the nursing home. The Court will make such an order only if it is of the opinion that the client's interests are best served by the proposed new arrangements. Of the cases where the involvement of the Public Trust Office has ceased as a result of the review exercise, only four have had capital passed to a nursing home.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many casual and agency staff are employed in the Public Trust Office in clerical and administrative grades; and how many have authority to issue cash payments from clients' funds. [145685]

§ Jane Kennedy
The Public Trust Office has 10 casual and 112 agency staff in clerical and administrative grades. Of these, three casual staff and one agency staff are on the authorised signatory list for payments from client's funds. However, two signatures are required in all cases to authorise such payments.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much has been paid to outside consultants working at the Public Trust Office in the last year; and how many consultants there are. [145682]

§ Jane Kennedy
The amount paid to outside consultants in the year to November 2000 was £288,000. This was for seven consultants.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made in putting out to tender the last resort receivership work carried out by the receivership division of the Public Trust Office. [145678]

§ Jane Kennedy
I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton) on 21 December 2000,Official Report, column 272W, announcing publication of "The Way Forward and an Analysis of the Consultation". The Lord Chancellor has decided not to conduct a competitive tender for last resort work. Instead, we will put in place an approved list of receivers to whom cases can be transferred where it is in the client's best interest.
394W
Applications to be on this list were advertised at the beginning of January and an evaluation of the responses received will start shortly.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many staff formerly employed in the mental health division of the Public Trust Office have left the Agency in the six month period to 1 December 2000; and what was the equivalent figure for(a) the previous six months and (b) the same period in (i) 1998 and (ii) 1991 [145680]

§ Jane Kennedy
During the six month period to 1 December 2000, 37 staff, formerly employed in the mental health division of the Public Trust Office, left the office. The equivalent figure for the preceding six months was 33. The number of staff leaving the office in the six month period to 1 December 1998 was 28, and for the same period in 1997, 26 staff.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary. Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to bring forward legislation to transfer the role of the Public Trustee to the Official Solicitor. [145689]

§ Jane Kennedy
No legislation is required to transfer the role of the Public Trustee to the Official Solicitor.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many staff formerly employed in the mental health division of the Public Trust Office have been transferred to other duties connected with(a) customer services and (b) the change directorate. [145681]

§ Jane Kennedy
Responsibility for customer service was formerly spread out among many staff in the mental health division but is now the responsibility of 7.5 full-time equivalent staff in the customer service division. The change directorate no longer exists; all staff who worked in the change directorate now work in the mental health division.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the rate of remuneration paid to the highest paid consultant at the Public Trust Office is. [145683]

§ Jane Kennedy
The highest paid consultant is an investment consultant, who is paid £180 per hour. His services are used on an ad hoc basis for approximately 10 hours per month.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps have been taken to ascertain the opinions of(a) clients and (b) carers of clients of the receivership division on the proposals to tender out the last resort receivership work. [145686]

§ Jane Kennedy
Letters were sent both to clients and their carers in May 2000. These contained a summary of the proposals for the last resort receivership service and sought their views. There was very little response, but some concerns were expressed and the Government no longer propose to conduct a tender for these cases.

§ Mr. Colman
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much has been paid out to clients of the Public Trust Office in compensation for errors made in the six-month period to 1 December 2000; and what was the equivalent figure for the same six-month period in(a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999. [145679]
395W

§ Jane Kennedy
The Public Trust Office has paid out the following amounts in compensation for errors: in the six month period to 1 December 2001), £261,434, of which £223,879 was in respect of one case (concerning an error discovered in June 1998); in the six months to 1 December 1999, £46,118; in the six months to 1 December 1998, 60,192; and in the six months lo 1 December 1997, £51,521. It should be noted that the errors to which these payments relate would have occurred in earlier periods.