Over 19,000 Scots living with welfare guardianship orders - more than ever at an increasing rate

New figures published today by the Mental Welfare Commission show that 19,078 Scots were living with a welfare guardianship order in March 2024, the highest level recorded, and a 6.9% increase on 2023.

While the increase is similar to previous years, the number of existing guardianship orders has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

What is a welfare guardianship order?

When a person lacks capacity to make some or all decisions for themselves, a court can appoint a ‘welfare guardian’ to do that with and for them. The guardian 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 number of decisions on behalf of a person including  where the person lives, as well as about their personal and medical care. Local authorities have a duty to supervise all welfare guardians.

Key facts

The vast majority of granted guardianship orders were new orders (92%), while the remainder were renewals. A total of 4,009 guardianship orders were granted in 2023-24, 12.9%% more than in 2022-23. 

Private guardians (meaning relatives or friends as opposed to local authorities) accounted for over 77% of welfare guardianships granted, slightly above previous years.  

The most common primary diagnosis was learning disability (49%), followed by dementia (35%). 

Today’s report gives a detailed breakdown of the information, including geographical variations, showing the highest rate per hundred thousand population in North Ayrshire, and the lowest in Shetland.

Mental Welfare Commission visits to people who are on welfare guardianship orders

As part of its role, the Mental Welfare Commission undertakes a series of visits to people on welfare guardianship orders every year to understand how their rights are being upheld.

In 2023-24 the Commission visited 327 people subject to welfare guardianship orders. In 55% of those visits Commission staff provided advice or undertook further actions.

Of the 157 individuals who we visited who were on a private guardianship order, 68.8% had a local authority supervising officer allocated at the time we visited. 

Dr Arun Chopra, executive director (medical) , Mental Welfare Commission, said: 

“We note the sharper than average increase in guardianship orders this year. We cannot say what might be driving this increase however, a constant consideration is that the rights of those who lack capacity because of mental illness, learning disability, dementia and related conditions should continue to be protected by the law.

“While those legal protections are vital, we believe the system needs reform and hope that the findings of this report will be helpful to considerations within the current Scottish Government led consultation on reforms to the Adults with Incapacity Act. We look forward to working with Scottish Government and stakeholders on the work arising from this consultation."

Note to editors

The Mental Welfare Commission publishes this information annually as part of its statutory role to monitor the use of the Adults with Incapacity Act.

You can read the full report and easy read summary on the links below.