Personal information charter

The data we hold about you, your rights and how to contact us about it.

Office of the Public Guardian

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to the protection and security of your personal information.

It is important that you read this notice so that you are aware of how and why we are using such information. This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal information during and after your relationship with us, in accordance with data protection law. It will be updated regularly.

The Office of the Public Guardian is an Executive Agency of the MoJ. MoJ is the data controller for the personal data used for the purposes of:

  • registering lasting powers of attorney (LPA)
  • supervision of deputies and guardians
  • investigating concerns about how an attorney, deputy or guardian is acting on behalf of a donor, client or missing person

You can find full details of their obligations under the data protection laws in the MoJ personal information charter.

The type of personal data we process

We currently collect and use the following information:

  • name
  • date of birth
  • address
  • contact details
  • financial information
  • decisions taken on behalf of the donor, client or missing person
  • audio recordings of telephone calls to our contact centre
  • your computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address when using our online services

We may also collect or be provided with special categories of information, such as:

  • race or ethnicity religious or philosophical beliefs, for example to assess whether an attorney or deputy is acting in the client’s best interests
  • health, sex life or sexual orientation, for example, health records including hospital admissions, medication taken, mental capacity assessments
  • criminal convictions, for example unspent convictions declared by a proposed deputy, or provided by another public body such as a local authority or police

How we get your personal data and why we have it

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:

  • when you apply to register a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), so we can register your LPA
  • when you complete an LPA application form using the service, so we can register your LPA
  • you’re appointed as a deputy under the Mental Capacity Act 2005
  • you’re appointed as a guardian under the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017
  • you’re visited by a Court of Protection visitor to review P (or protected person) or donor you are responsible for, so we can support you in your role, and supervise court-appointed deputies
  • you pay a fee using a credit card, debit card or by direct debit, so we can process your payment
  • you apply for a remission or exemption of fees, so we can make sure you are charged the correct fee
  • you apply for a refund under the power of attorney refunds scheme or deputyship fee refunds scheme
  • you receive any refunds from OPG under the power of attorney refunds scheme or deputyship fee refunds scheme
  • you contact us with a question by email, so we can help with your query
  • you call us at our contact centre, so we can help you with carrying out your role or making an application for a power of attorney
  • you make a complaint, so we can understand and investigate your complaint
  • you volunteer to take part in our customer research, so we can improve our services
  • an investigation is triggered in your case, so we can decide whether we should take action
  • someone raises a concern regarding the conduct of an attorney or deputy, so we can protect people’s interests
  • we’re served with a copy of a witness statement, so we can comply with directions issued by the Court of Protection during legal proceedings
  • we help to facilitate a security bond, so we can make sure there is compliance with the court order, including assisting bond providers in ensuring premiums are paid.
  • we review your deputy report, so we can support and supervise court-appointed deputies

We also receive personal information indirectly. For example, from:

  • the Court of Protection, so we can support and supervise court-appointed deputies
  • local authorities and social services, to ensure vulnerable people are safeguarded, and to obtain social work and care records to assist when we are investigating concerns
  • police forces, to assist with law enforcement activity
  • the Department for Work and Pensions, to verify contact information and details of benefits in payment
  • Social Security Scotland, to verify contact information and details of benefits in payment
  • other government departments and agencies as appropriate
  • the NHS, to obtain medical records of vulnerable people where we are investigating concerns
  • Court of Protection visitors, when a visitor is commissioned to produce a report for the Public Guardian or Court of Protection
  • the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, to assist their investigations into solicitors who are appointed as an attorney or deputy
  • third parties who raise safeguarding concerns
  • third parties who object to the registration of an LPA

We use the personal data we receive to:

  • support the Public Guardian to protect the interests of people who may lack capacity
  • maintain a register of enduring powers of attorney (EPA), lasting powers of attorney (LPA), court-appointed guardians and court-appointed deputies
  • supervise court-appointed deputies
  • supervise court-appointed guardians
  • take legal action to protect the interests of vulnerable people
  • promote OPG’s services
  • conduct customer research
  • maintain OPG’s accounts and annual reports
  • carry out analysis of OPG’s data using the MoJ Analytical Platform
  • train staff on OPG processes and systems
  • consult with approved third-party organisations to develop and improve our internal  processes

We may share this information with:

  • the Court of Protection
  • parties to proceedings when we take legal action at the Court of Protection (as required by a court order or the court procedure rules)
  • Court of Protection visitors
  • barristers’ chambers (to represent OPG in legal proceedings and to provide legal advice)
  • the Government Legal Department (to represent OPG in legal proceedings and to provide legal advice)
  • the police
  • local authorities and social services
  • Department for Work and Pensions
  • Social Security Scotland
  • other government departments and agencies
  • the NHS
  • bond providers (who provide insurance to deputies)
  • Shared Services Connected Limited (processes financial transactions relating to customers on behalf of MoJ, such as cheque processing, refunds and direct debit payments)
  • Amazon Web Services (hosts our primary case management system)
  • Atos (hosts our corporate network infrastructure)
  • Vodafone and BT (provides telephony services to MoJ, including our contact centre)
  • Notify (to send updates to customers by text message, e-mail or letters)
  • Xerox Hybrid Mail (to send letters to customers)
  • Access UK (hosts our legal case management system)
  • Microsoft to support development of artificial intelligence (AI) tools
  • individuals who request a search of our public registers

You can find out more information on disclosure of information through the registers.

This list is not exhaustive and any decision to share information will be made on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) we can process your information because we need it to perform a public task.

The legal reason the MoJ can process special categories of information because of the substantial public interest in the MoJ complying with our legal obligations (statutory and governmental purposes).

The legal reasons OPG can process personal data when carrying out its public task to support the Public Guardian come from:

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)   

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the theory and development of digital technology to be able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence. This includes the creation or use of large language models and machine learning.

OPG uses AI and other automated technologies to help improve the efficiency  of some of our processes. AI tools may be used to support activities such as data analysis, quality assurance, and generating or updating guidance materials. Any use of AI is carefully assessed to ensure it complies with data protection law, aligns with OPG’s statutory functions, and does not make decisions that have a direct effect on individuals without appropriate human review. The use of AI is continually monitored and governed in line with MoJ policies, ensuring your personal data remains protected and used fairly, transparently and lawfully.

International Data Transfers

Personal data is transferred to the Republic of Ireland for the purpose of hosting our primary case management system and hosting the data held on the MoJ Analytical Platform. These international transfers comply with UK data protection law.

How we store your personal data

Personal data is stored securely and in accordance with our data retention schedule. At the end of this period your data is disposed of. Data held on the MoJ Analytical Platform is retained for 20 years.

When it comes to your personal information you have the right to:

  • access: you can ask us for copies
  • rectification: you can ask us to rectify it if you think it is inaccurate and to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete
  • erasure: you can ask us to erase it in certain circumstances
  • restriction of processing: you can ask us to restrict the processing of it in certain circumstances
  • object to processing: you can object to the processing of it in certain circumstances
  • data portability: you can ask us to transfer it to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances

Depending on the lawful basis on which your personal data is being processed, not all rights will apply.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. You may be asked to provide proof of identity when making a request. If you wish to exercise your data protection rights please contact:

For Subject Access Requests:

Disclosure Team
Post point 10.38
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

data.access@justice.gov.uk

You can also make your Subject Access Request via our online service:

Request personal information from the Ministry of Justice - GOV.UK

Requests can also be made verbally by telephoning us.

For other requests:

Office of the Public Guardian
PO Box 16185
Birmingham
B2 2WH

opgdatacompliance@publicguardian.gov.uk  

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can contact the MoJ Data Protection Officer.

Data Protection Officer
Ministry of Justice
5th Floor, Post Point 5.12
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

dpo@justice.gov.uk

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: www.ico.org.uk

Date of last review 12 December 2025

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