Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer put the spotlight on the issue of elderly people who are taken financial advantage of by their relatives, in a debate in Westminster Hall.

The growing elderly population in the UK has led to a sharp rise in the number of middle-aged people having to look after the finances of their parents. This is generally done through a legal device known as enduring power of attorney (EPA). Susan Kramer used the debate to express her worries about the abuse of this power to take advantage of the vulnerable.

She began:

“Abuse of the elderly, which we might perhaps narrow to financial abuse of the elderly, is often considered to be a stranger danger. In the media, people tend to read about cowboy builders who take advantage of older people, rogue traders, phoney charities and various get-rich-quick schemes that attempt to draw older people in and sometimes - although perhaps it is not abuse to the same degree - even mis-selling by normally reputable financial institutions. However, a form of abuse that is far less discussed is abuse that happens nearer to home.”

She referred to a research paper by Action on Elder Abuse, which reported “that most victims of financial abuse are women over the age of 81 and that most perpetrators are sons and daughters of those people”.

Ms Kramer said the issue was drawn to her attention by a disturbing case within her own constituency where an elderly woman was abruptly moved from her caring facility to a cheaper one under instructions from the attorney (a relative), and this seemed to have resulted in rapid deterioration of her health and, within two years, to her death. This had made Ms Kramer anxious to know how EPAs are being monitored to try to avoid vulnerable individuals being taken advantage of.

Reforms which came into force in October 2007 were welcomed by Ms Kramer, but she said there were still many situations where individuals are not protected sufficiently. She accepted that “the lasting power of attorney is an improvement on the old EPA system because it provides a more rigorous certification and registration process.” However she still felt that they are “far from iron-clad.” Doctors, solicitors and friends are, she said, hesitant to interfere in family relationships and question the soundness of someone’s mentality. “The safeguards have increased,” she said, “but the underlying flaw that people are hesitant to challenge family relationships remains deeply embedded in the system.”

Ms Kramer called for an increase in the availability of information on the topic of deregistering for power of attorney. She said it was extraordinary that there appeared to be absolutely no knowledge of whether anyone, anywhere has ever been deregistered.

Ms Kramer concluded:

“It is obviously necessary to ensure that there is an effective mechanism for power of attorney for people as they become older, but surely as the number of older people increases, particularly of those with substantial financial resources, we must look beyond registration and put in place better monitoring and an education mechanism. Perhaps there should be greater and more stringent requirements on solicitors to set out the options as people start to consider whether they should enter a power of attorney, and how they could be framed. We must have a special programme in place to deal with the legacy of the old EPAs, which will continue to have an impact on the lives of so many people today.”

Click here to read Susan Kramer’s speech in full, and the minister’s response to it