As demand for deputyship and appointeeship services grows more complex, Sarah Mandley of Idox explains why robust, auditable financial systems are essential to protecting vulnerable people and maintaining public trust in local authority care.
Across England and Wales, local authority deputyship and appointeeship teams perform one of the most important yet least visible functions in adult social care: managing the finances of people who cannot manage them alone and doing so in a way that protects their money, meets their needs and stands up to scrutiny.
Who these services support
It’s worth being clear about who these teams serve, because it’s often misunderstood. The people supported span a wide range of ages and circumstances, not only older people living with dementia, but also people with learning disabilities, mental health conditions, acquired brain injuries, and those affected by drug or alcohol dependency. What they have in common is that they need support to manage their finances and property; the reason and the legal route can differ.
Court of Protection deputyships are established under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and grant a deputy the authority to manage the property and financial affairs of an individual who lacks the capacity to do so, under the supervision of the Office of the Public Guardian. Department for Work and Pensions appointeeships are a separate, simpler arrangement, limited to managing a person’s welfare benefits for someone who cannot manage their own affairs, sitting outside the Mental Capacity Act and requiring no court order. Capacity itself is decision-specific and can fluctuate, so the picture is rarely all-or-nothing. The common thread is that someone is entrusted to manage another person’s money and must be able to prove they have done so responsibly.
A growing and more complex demand
Demand for these services is not only rising but also changing in nature. An ageing population is part of the picture, with dementia cases in England and Wales projected to rise to as many as 1.7 million by 2040 if recent trends continue. But that is only one driver, and by no means the largest. A significant share of the growth comes from other groups, including younger adults living in the community with learning disabilities, mental health needs or other long-term conditions.
Supporting these clients is often far more complex than managing a residential placement. Rather than simply settling care-home fees and issuing a personal allowance, teams may manage tenancies, day-to-day living costs, benefits and needs that fluctuate over many years, sometimes for decades. The pandemic added further pressure, surfacing many more people who needed support. Faced with stretched resources, many local authorities now operate waiting lists and have introduced acceptance criteria for their services, not through choice but as an unavoidable response to demand that continues to outpace capacity. Caseloads are getting larger, more varied and more complex to manage.
Why accountability matters
As demand rises, so does the need for accountability. Deputyship and appointeeship teams manage potentially significant sums on behalf of vulnerable people. They must maintain accurate financial records, reconcile accounts, track assets, manage expenditure and, for deputyships, report annually to the Office of the Public Guardian. The OPG’s deputy standards place strong emphasis on financial management, record keeping and demonstrating that decisions have been made appropriately and, in the person’s, best interests. Every financial decision must be capable of being evidenced and explained.
Families expect this transparency too. They rightly want reassurance that funds are protected, care needs are met, and decisions are made responsibly. Trust is strengthened when there is a clear, auditable record of money received, payments made and actions taken on a person’s behalf.
The limits of manual processes
This is why auditability matters, and why it is difficult to achieve with the tools many services still rely on. Spreadsheets, paper files and disconnected systems can be maintained to a high standard by dedicated staff, but manual processes make it harder to evidence decision-making, spot risks, respond to enquiries, and demonstrate compliance quickly and consistently. As caseloads grow and become more complex, that gap widens.
A purpose-built approach
A purpose-built digital solution closes the gap, by creating an auditable record of every client interaction, financial transaction and case activity. This is why more local authorities are turning to specialist technology. CasparGov, Idox’s dedicated deputyship and appointeeship management solution, is trusted by more than 80 local authorities across England and Wales, supporting Court of Protection deputyship, DWP appointeeship and in some authorities their Public Health Funeral function. Developed alongside local authority teams, it provides a complete audit trail, automated reconciliation, financial management, reporting and workflow capabilities designed specifically for these services.
More than compliance, an investment in trust
Ultimately, auditability is about far more than compliance. It is about protecting vulnerable people, giving assurance to families, supporting professionals to deliver the highest standards of stewardship, and maintaining public confidence in a service that safeguards those who cannot manage their own affairs. As caseloads continue to grow, local authorities need systems that support transparency, resilience and effective governance at scale. Digital deputyship and appointeeship management is not simply a technology investment. It is an investment in trust.
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