Appointeeship and Deputyship – support with your finances

Managing benefits on somebody else's behalf

Appointeeship

At Cornwall Council we manage the finances of people who are unable to do this for themselves and have no one else who is willing or able to do this for them. The Council offers an appointeeship for people living in residential care, or in the community.

Appointeeship may be the best course of action if the person:

• has a low level of financial assets
• is in receipt of benefits, and
• does not have any other sources of income

Depending on the person’s financial circumstances, it may be that Deputyship is a better option.

What is an appointeeship?

An Appointee is someone who manages a person’s benefits.

When someone is no longer able to manage their finances a social work practitioner can make an application. This is made to the Cornwall Council Appointee and Deputyship Service. 

Appointeeship is granted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) upon application by the Council.

We will then act as Corporate Appointee by collecting a person’s state benefits and making payments from these monies. These payments may be for:

• care charges
• personal allowance
• other items considered to be in the person’s best interests

As Corporate Appointee we may also help with paying other bills or utilities. However we may seek your consent for this.

Appointees only manage a person’s benefits. Any other sources of income or substantial savings, the Council as Appointee, cannot control. In these circumstances an application for Deputyship may be more appropriate.

Who can have an appointee?

Appointeeship can be granted for:

• people in long term residential care
• people living in the community, including Shared Lives accommodation

We will apply for Appointeeship only in the following situations:

• there are allegations of financial abuse and a safeguarding referral has been made in relation to these allegations
• the person has been assessed as no longer having capacity to manage their finances by a social work practitioner. This is via completion of a Mental Capacity Assessment
• the person is severely physically disabled and unable to access the community
• there must be no one else who is willing or suitable to act for the person
• the person has only state benefits, little or no other income, savings or assets

Before an application for Appointeeship can be accepted, the social work practitioner must ensure there is a mechanism in place. This is so that the person can access the money. This could be:

• collecting a Post Office voucher
• having support to go to a cash machine from family members, support providers or their social care worker

The Appointee Service does not include the provision of cash. All transactions are carried out electronically. The person will be issued with a cash card which will be loaded on a daily / weekly basis by the Appointee Service.

Timescales

On average the process takes 8 to 12 weeks for Appointeeship to be granted by the DWP.

Appointees Fees

Our fees will enable us to continue to support and improve services for you. These fees are reviewed annually.

If your individual Appointee bank account is in credit by £1000 or more, a fee will be payable. The fees applied are:

• if your balance is between £1001 and £2000, the fee is £1 a week
• if your balance is between £2001 and £16,000, and you live in the community, the fee is £13 a week
• if your balance is between £2001 and £16,000, and you live in permanent residential care, the fee is £8 a week
• if your balance is over £16,001, we will consider if appointeeship is appropriate to continue. We may apply to the Court of Protection for Deputyship to manage your finances

The fee will be collected quarterly, approximately on the first day of July, October, January and April of each financial year.

If your balance is over £16,001, we will consider if Appointee service should continue. We may apply to the Court of Protection for Deputyship to manage your finances.

If we stop providing Appointee service and someone else takes over, we will charge £245 to end our service. If someone passes away, we will charge £330 to pay any remaining bills and close the account.

We also charge for Deputyship fees which include application to the Courts and annual reporting costs.

Deputyship

A Deputy is someone appointed by the Court of Protection who acts for someone who is unable to manage their own finances. This is with regard to:

• claiming state benefits
• making payments on behalf of the person for cost towards their care
• arranging personal spending or other items considered to be in the best interests of the person
• making decisions about other income and capital 

In exceptional circumstances, the Council offers to be a deputy to:

• manage the finances of people who are unable to do this for themselves, and
• have no one else who is willing or able to do this for them

The Council can be Deputy for people living in residential care and in the community. 

We charge fees for Deputyship.  These include the application to the Courts and annual reporting costs. This is in line with the Court of Protection and The Office of The Public Guardian guidance.

Fees and charges

Fees that could be incurred when applying for a Deputyship order, as determined by the Court of Protection & The Office of the Public Guardian.

View the Government information on Court of Protection fees

Exemptions and Remissions

Court of Protection Application Fee

Details of the criteria for full and partial remission can be found in the HM Courts & Tribunals Service document EX160A – this is a two-stage test based on capital held and monthly income.

Office of the Public Guardian Fees

Some Service Users may be entitled to a fee exemption, if they receive certain state benefits and have not been awarded damages of more than £16,000 which were disregarded when determining eligibility for benefit:

• Universal Credit
• Income Support
• Income based Employment and Support Allowance
• Income based Job-Seekers allowance
• State Pension Guarantee Credit
• A combination of Working Tax Credit and either Child Tax Credit, Disability Element or Severe Disability Element
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Benefit
• Local Housing Allowance

Service users who are not eligible for a fee exemption may be entitled to a 50% remission if their gross annual income is less than £12000 (NB the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) do not grant remission in respect of the minimal supervision fee). This must be evidenced by benefit letters / payslips, etc. The OPG will not accept bank statements as evidence of income. Full details are on form OPG120.

For Further information please visit the Judiciary website for information on fixed costs and deputy remuneration.

Local Authority Remuneration