The Court of Protection Affected By Significant IT Issues

Significant IT issues at the HM Court and Tribunal Services (HMCTS) have caused chaos across the courts in England and Wales. This includes the Court of Protection which deals with applications concerning vulnerable people who lack mental capacity to make various decisions regarding their financial and welfare affairs.

We understand that the problems started in the third week of January 2019 and mainly affected devices which connect to the main Ministry of Justice (MoJ) network. As a result, many staff at the Court of Protection were unable to access emails and to log into their computers. Urgent emails that required action were not being dealt with. We understand that the Court of Protection is currently unable to provide any time estimates due to a backlog of applications of approximately 8 weeks in the court.

The MoJ had pledged to invest £1.2 bn into digitising the courts to save money and simplify the process of administering justice but this did not get off to a good start. We have seen very little or no sign of recovery and many vulnerable people and their families have been left waiting weeks and months on the vital decisions affecting their financial and welfare matters.

Contact IBB’s Court of Protection Solicitors today

For more information on Court of Protection matters please contact IBB Solicitors on 03456 381381 or email estatemanagement@ibblaw.co.uk.