- Request
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I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding your council's management of deputyship matters for individuals who lack mental capacity. I would be grateful if you could provide the following information:
1. Deputyship Service Structure
(1a). Does the council operate an internal team responsible for managing deputyship matters under the Mental Capacity Act 2005?
(1b). If so, please provide a short description of how the service is structured (e.g., staffing, governance, internal processes).
2. Use of External Solicitors
(2a). Does the council instruct or refer work to external solicitors, law firms or legal professionals in connection with deputyship-related legal matters (e.g., conveyancing, disputes,
statutory wills, litigation)?
(2b). If yes, please provide:
(2b.1)The names of the firms used;
(2b.2) The types of matters each firm typically handles;
(2b.3) Whether instructions are made under a framework agreement, panel, or on an ad‑hoc basis
3. Criteria for External Referral3.1. Does the council have a financial value threshold (e.g., property/asset value) above which legal matters are referred externally rather than handled internally?
(3a). If applicable, please specify the threshold and rationale.
(3b) Are there any non‑financial criteria (e.g., complexity, conflicts of interest, required specialism) which automatically trigger referral to external solicitors?
4. Internal vs External Case Handling
(4a). What categories of deputyship‑related legal work are handled internally?
(4b). What categories are always outsourced?
(4c). Please provide any policies, guidance documents, or internal decision‑making criteria relevant to this process.
5. Volumes and SpendFor each of the past three financial years (2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 to date):
(5a). How many deputyship matters were referred to external solicitors?
(5b). What was the total spend on external legal services for deputyship matters?
(5c) If possible, please break this down by firm and year.
6. Financial or Non‑Financial Benefits
(6a). Does the council receive any financial consideration, referral fee, commission, rebate, or any other form of payment or benefit (financial or non‑financial) from any external solicitor or law firm in connection with the referral of deputyship-related work?
(6b). If yes, please provide details of the nature of the arrangement, the firms involved, the amounts or benefits received over the last three financial years, and any relevant agreements or policy documents.
(6c). If no such arrangements exist, please confirm that no financial or non‑financial benefits are received when referring work externally.
7. Supporting Information
(7a). If available, please provide any public reports, policies, or internal documents outlining your approach to supporting individuals who have lost capacity, including management of property and financial affairs.
- Decision
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Thank you for your Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA). Whilst we are able to answer some of the request, we confirm that we do not hold all of the information being requested. For ease, we have included the request below our response.
1. Deputyship Service Structure
(1a). Yes
(1b). We have our Court of Protection and Appointeeship Team (COPA). It sits within Client Finances in our Financial Services Team in the Resources Directorate. The team has 11 FTE case management teams plus 1 Client Finance Manager. It receives its referrals through the Council’s Adult Social Care Team (ASC), once a Mental Capacity Assessment (MCA) and Best Interests Assessment (BIA) has been completed for a service user.
Referrals for COPA Team support are completed when there are no identified alternative suitable representatives, and the client is assessed as not holding mental capacity to make decisions, for example relating to their property and finances.
2. Use of External Solicitors
This question relates to external solicitors. The Council instructs its own in-house legal services, Legal Services Lincolnshire therefore we do not hold this information
3. Criteria for External Referral 3.1. Does the council have a financial value threshold (e.g., property/asset value) above which legal matters are referred externally rather than handled internally?
As above, we do not refer matters externally; therefore, we do not hold this information4. Internal vs External Case Handling
The categories of work which could be passed to our in-house legal service would include cases where there is an increased complexity such as multiple properties or businesses, for example. We do not hold a record which documents this. Our decision is guided by our consideration of the guidance provided below.
5. Volumes and Spend For each of the past three financial years (2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 to date):
We do not record this data as we use our own in-house legal services
6. Financial or Non‑Financial Benefits
We do not record this data as we use our own in-house legal services
7. Supporting Information
Our COPA team uses the following guidance to assist in its decision making
Our ASC and in-house legal services may use the following guidance when considering any deputyship matters
- Reference number
- 15251957
- Date request received
- 28 January 2026
- Date of decision
- 25 March 2026