Over 17,000 Scots living with welfare guardianship – Mental Welfare Commission calls for law reform

New figures published today by the Mental Welfare Commission show that 17,101 Scots were living with a welfare guardianship order in March 2022, the highest level recorded.

What is a welfare guardianship order?

When a person lacks capacity to take decisions for themselves, a court can appoint a ‘welfare guardian’ to do that for them. It is usually a relative, but can be a local authority. Welfare guardianship is most commonly used for people with learning disabilities or those with dementia.

Welfare guardians can make a decision about where a person lives, as well as about their personal and medical care. Local authorities have a duty to supervise all welfare guardians.

Year on year increase

Ten years ago, in 2012, there were 6,400 people living with a welfare guardianship order. The numbers have risen every year since then.

Some of the data in today’s report was affected by temporary measures introduced during the pandemic, but the overall trend in rising numbers continued.

Suzanne McGuinness, executive director (social work), Mental Welfare Commission, said:

“People who lack capacity because of learning disability, dementia or other conditions are some of the most vulnerable individuals in our community and have a right to be protected by the law.

“But the constant rise in use of welfare guardianship - and the difficulties this can cause for individuals, families and authorities - has led many, including the Commission, to support proposals for reform of the system, to make it less complex and better for the individual. We will explore this further in our full response to the recently-published Scottish Mental Health Law Review.

“More specifically for today’s data, while the emergency measures introduced during the pandemic ceased to be used, the impact is still evident in today’s report where we see a big increase in new orders last year following the earlier halt in activity. We expect this to be a temporary picture.”

Key facts

• Of all granted guardianship orders, 94% were new orders, while 6% were renewals.
• Private guardians (meaning relatives or friends as opposed to local authorities) accounted for 73% of all welfare guardianships granted, which was similar to previous years.  
• The most common primary diagnosis was learning disability (46%), followed by dementia (39%). 
• Today’s report gives detailed breakdown of the information, including geographical variations, showing the highest rate per hundred thousand population in the Highlands, and the lowest in Eilean Siar. This data may be affected by pandemic measures.
• Most of the granted orders were for a period of five years or less (80%), while 16% were for six years or longer, and 4% were indefinite orders. 

Note
The Mental Welfare Commission publishes data on welfare guardianship orders every year, collating and analysing the information. The Commission also visits a number of people living under a guardianship order every year. In 2021-22 the Commission visited 295 people, often giving advice on the visit and/or highlighting the need for additional action to be taken in the individual situation.