§ Mr. David Atkinsonasked the Attorney-General what proposals the Lord Chancellor has made or implemented to improve the efficiency of the work of the Court of Protection.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralSignificant administrative changes took place in the Court of Protection on 1 January 1983 and I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that the Lord Chancellor gave to the Baroness Trumpington on 2 December 1982—[Official Report, House of Lords; Vol. 436, c. 1393–4]—and that given by the Solicitor-General to the hon. Member for Enfield, North (Mr. Eggar) on 26 January 1983.—[Vol. 35, c. 429.]
Since then, simpler procedures for Security, accounting and winding-up of receiverships together with fixed costs for solicitors' work have been introduced. There are proposals to simplify procedures to terminate the court's jurisdiction on the recovery of a patient. Word processing equipment has speeded up the preparation of orders, and a computer is being installed to deal with accounts.