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<p>As of 23/2/2021 the average time taken to process and dispatch a lasting power
of attorney (LPA) was 57 days against the target of 40 days. The target includes a
statutory four week waiting period. As a comparison, the October average came in at
61 days. The 40-day target was achieved in 2019/20.</p><p>The Office of the Public
Guardian (OPG) has seen an increase in the time taken to process an LPA since COVID-19
began impacting the workplace.</p><p>LPAs are paper documents that require a physical
staff presence in an office to process and register. The number of staff available
to attend the office to carry out the physical activities is significantly reduced
due to COVID-19 and the need to maintain a COVID secure office through social distancing.
Measures were introduced to focus on enabling as much remote working as possible and
increasing the number of staff hours available in the office through overtime payments
and weekend working.</p>
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