Hansard

The legislation currently allows for the recognition of Scottish powers of attorney in England and Wales. Paragraph 13 of schedule 3 to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 states that “if the correct process has been followed for the Power of Attorney to be created in Scotland, it would be legally recognised in England and Wales without the need for further action from either the Court of Protection or Office of the Public Guardian ... for England and Wales.” Given that there is already legislation in place that provides recognition of Scottish powers of attorney in England and Wales, I am not persuaded that further legislation is the answer. However, this is about ensuring that institutions and organisations have awareness and are educated on the legal status of Scottish powers of attorney. I would liken the debate to the debate about accepting Scottish £10 notes in England. They are legal tender, but they look unfamiliar and people are not aware of them. The point is that it is not the law that we need to change; we need to change the understanding of what the Scottish powers of attorney are and of the fact that they look just a little bit different. We would be keen to commit to working with third-party organisations to raise awareness through publicity about the validity of Scottish powers of attorney in England and Wales rather than change the law, because the law already allows for recognition of those powers.