Who guards the guardians?

Peter Jackson J has handed down an important judgment which confirms the extent of guardians’ powers, in relation to people who lack capacity. C v Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council & Blackburn with Darwen Teaching Care Trust [2011] EWHC 3321 (COP) deals with the unusual situation where a person subject to guardianship is also deprived of his liberty under a standard authorisation, and challenges that deprivation in the Court of Protection. C was challenging his deprivation. A novel issue arose in this case: whether the Court of Protection has any jurisdiction over a guardian’s decision-making.

The guardian’s role

Section 8(1) of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MeHA 1983) reads (emphasis added): “Where a guardianship application, duly made...to the local social services authority within the period allowed by subsection (2) below is accepted by that authority, the application shall...confer on the authority or person named in the application as guardian, to the exclusion of any other person: (a) the power to