THE SECRET WORLD OF THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN OFFICE (OPG)
Hidden Power, Hidden Harm: Inside the Secret World of the Office of the Public Guardian
Standfirst
Behind the closed doors of England’s guardianship system, families of vulnerable adults say they are being silenced, accused, and destroyed by the very agency meant to protect their loved ones.
The Quiet Power Behind Closed Doors
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is a little-known yet immensely powerful branch of the UK’s justice system. Operating under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, it oversees attorneys, deputies, and the property of people deemed unable to make their own decisions.
Its mission is noble: to protect the vulnerable.
Its methods, critics say, are anything but.
Families across the UK describe being labelled abusers, cut off from their relatives, and trapped in secret legal processes, all triggered by a single document: the OPG130 form.
“With one tick box, I became a ‘suspected perpetrator’,” says one carer, whose mother has dementia.
“No one ever checked the facts before our lives were turned upside down.”
The OPG130 Form: A Bureaucracy of Accusation
The OPG130 form is the official channel for “raising a concern.” A care home, GP, or neighbour can file it, checking boxes for financial, emotional or physical abuse and naming the supposed perpetrator.
This is meant to protect the vulnerable, yet it often creates accusation by default.
“The Public Guardian was content to commence proceedings solely on the basis of the desk-top evaluation of the case carried out by an investigator.”
The Public Guardian v DJN [2019] EWCOP 62
That sentence, from a High Court judgment, reveals how low the threshold for action can be.
Families as Collateral Damage
Once an OPG130 is filed, the named person may face investigation or suspension from managing their relative’s affairs. Some are barred from contact with the person they care for.
In DJN (2019), the Court of Protection rebuked the OPG for acting prematurely:
“It was abundantly clear at the outset that the real issue was P’s capacity … before commencing proceedings the Public Guardian should have reviewed the capacity evidence.”
The judge ordered the OPG to pay part of the attorney’s legal costs — a rare rebuke.
“The OPG operates in near-total secrecy — its victims cannot speak, and its errors rarely see daylight.”
Secrecy as Standard
All OPG-initiated cases go through the Court of Protection (CoP), a court that, by default, sits in private. Only anonymised judgments are published.
“The judge has given leave for this version of the judgment to be published on condition … the anonymity of the incapacitated person and members of their family must be strictly preserved.”
Public Guardian v RI &Ors [2022] EWCOP 22
Originally meant to safeguard dignity, this secrecy now shields institutions from scrutiny. Even when families are exonerated, they remain gagged by reporting restrictions.
“Privacy for the vulnerable too often becomes secrecy for the powerful.”
The Stain That Never Washes Away
Once a person is flagged in OPG correspondence, the suspicion rarely fades.
“The decision not to prosecute him … does not imply that his behaviour has been impeccable.”
Re DP; The Public Guardian v JM [2014] EWCOP 7
Even where allegations are dropped, the language of officialdom ensures reputational damage lingers. Families report being treated as “difficult” or “uncooperative” long after exoneration.
A Bureaucracy That Cannot Admit Error
The OPG’s own data shows most investigations end with no case to answer. Yet there’s no mechanism for correction, no apology, and no published audit of errors.
“There are transactions which require further investigation … the court concluded that JO had failed to fulfil the duties of a deputy for property and affairs.”
Court of Protection Case Update (2025)
That opaque phrase, “requires further investigation”, is often enough to justify long-term intervention. For families, the process itself becomes punishment.
Rights on Paper, Not in Practice
Legally, those accused are entitled to notice and a hearing.
“Where the court is considering whether to make a costs order … that person must be served with such documents … and given a reasonable opportunity to attend any hearing.”
Court of Protection Rules 2017 (SI 1035)
In reality, many relatives say they learn of hearings after they happen. Others receive redacted evidence so extensive that they cannot mount a defence.
The Human Cost
The toll is profound. Families describe sleepless nights, tens of thousands in legal costs, and fractured relationships.
“We are all receiving medical help for the stress … it’s not due to my father’s illness but to all of this.”
Open Justice Court of Protection Report, 2023
One mother, whose deputyship was revoked, said:
“They called me emotionally abusive for challenging neglect in my son’s care home. It destroyed us.”
A System in Need of Sunlight
Experts propose reforms to restore balance and trust:
Raise the evidential bar for OPG130 referrals — require corroboration before naming a “perpetrator.”
Guarantee a right of reply before escalation.
Publish anonymised statistics on the proportion of unfounded cases.
Establish independent oversight, outside the Ministry of Justice.
Provide redress, apology, correction, or compensation where harm is done.
“Protection must not become persecution.”
The OPG’s Defence
The OPG insists that its duty is to protect vulnerable adults and that confidentiality safeguards dignity.But insiders say the culture has hardened.
A former caseworker told this investigation:
“Once a family is labelled difficult, everything they do is seen through that lens. It’s very hard to undo.”
The Moral Reckoning
The OPG was created to defend the powerless. Yet when its secrecy and forms destroy innocent families, protection turns into persecution.
“Before commencing proceedings the Public Guardian should have reviewed the capacity evidence.”, EWCOP 62 (2019)
Until transparency is built into the system, the Office of the Public Guardian will remain a hidden power, and, for too many, a source of hidden and potentially devastating harm.
Sources
Psychiatric Abuse UK 