EG & Anor v P [2024] EWCOP 80 (T3)

Consideration of capacity where P is seeking funds from his deputies to pay off a debt incurred through possible criminality

P is a man in his twenties who had been involved in a serious accident aged 3 and for which he was awarded a sizeable sum. That fund is now overseen by deputies appointed by the Court of Protection but P is considered to have capacity to manage the regular lump sums he receives and lives largely autonomously in the community. These proceedings came to court after P approached the deputies for money he owed as a result of a possible drug deal and opinion was that agreeing the payment could expose the deputies to criminal liability, including under the Proceeds of Crime Act..

After reading position statements, The President of the Family Division identifies the issue is whether P lacks capacity to make this decision, it being accepted that if he does then the court could not, as a matter of law, go on to sanction the payment. The evidence from the expert witness that P lacked capacity was accepted by the judge and so he concludes at [20]:

'The deputies have found themselves to be in an acutely difficult professional circumstance. They know P well; they plainly have formed a positive relationship working with him now for a substantial length of time. They have considered their professional position carefully and they have brought the matter to court; they deserve the protection of the court in this potentially sensitive matter by the court taking a relevant decision. I therefore do not dismiss the application; I simply refuse to declare that this payment should be made. The decision I have made is that the payment to P for this sum of money to be made available to him to satisfy the Drug Debt should not be made.'

Read the full judgment on Bailii