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We understand that local authorities have limited budgets to meet the needs of all service users who require deputyships or appointeeships. The local authority as a public authority cannot recover the full economic cost of managing a deputyship itself, even where the service user has substantial financial means. The net result is that a constrained budget has to meet all service users’ needs, with taxpayers funding those with and without means equally. That risks the eroding of the service for all.
As a firm of solicitors, Stephensons can recover economic costs of deputyship from the service users’ resources. But crucially our fees are assessed and approved by the Court of Protection, so service users are fully protected.
The local authority reputation risk of directing deputyships to Stephensons is managed by the high degree of regulation exercised by the Court of Protection and Office of the Public Guardian.
We recognise the necessity for the local authority to recover care fees. Therefore, consistent with best interest decisions, we liquidate assets such as residential properties, efficiently, to meet care home fees. This further relieves the pressure on stretched local authority budgets.
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We have decade’s worth of experience of working with local authorities, especially in relation to social care matters.
We are on the panels of a number of local authorities and frameworks, including the National Crown Commercial Framework, meaning that we are effectively pre-approved and can be legally instructed without a lengthy tendering processes.
We recognise the importance of social value to our local authority and social purpose partners. Details of our social value commitments can be found at: Social value at Stephensons
We act for local authorities, individuals and families all over the country on a nationwide basis. Where necessary we undertake personal visits but we deliver most of our services at a distance. This still provides a client friendly, approachable, experience in a way that manages costs efficiently.
We have specialist teams working on deputyship matters and we utilise our own Trust Corporation to ensure continuity of service and high levels of compliance. The Trust Corporation is owned and directed by solicitors who are of course fully regulated. It is also fully insured, providing maximum protection for service users.
Sending overflow deputyship work to us, as a trusted partner, allows local authorities to free up their staff to deal with the most pressing appointeeships and the remaining deputyships. That allows for the allocation of scarce resources to the priority matters and gives in house staff the space to deliver the best service.
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