Gathering insight and building a campaign, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has identified the following misconceptions: -

The OPG conducted research into how many people across England and Wales currently have an LPA and compared this to areas of deprivation and dementia prevalence. This showed that there are people in our society who could benefit from having an LPA but don’t have one or know about them.

The research also told that those who know the least about LPAs tend to be from a lower socio-economic background and are more likely to be impacted by health issues or age-related illnesses such as dementia.

From a sample of 25,000 people, the top 3 concerns for people on low incomes are:-

1. Money or debt

2. Physical health

3. Caring for others

Nearly 75 percent of people think that their partners or close family members can automatically make decisions for them if they’re not able to. As next of kin, many people expect that making medical decisions or future planning for loved ones is straightforward.

This is not true; only an LPA gives you the legal ability to give those you trust the power to make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity.

Taking this information, the OPG has developed a campaign plan to tackle these common misconceptions.

The campaign 'Your voice, your decision’ – aims to provide access and information about LPAs to everyone and encourage everyone to take them out to provide peace of mind for the future.