Legal Action Group, in collaboration with 39 Essex Chambers, invite you to LAG’s Community Care Conference 2026.
We have a brilliant line-up of speakers who will inform and provide practical and tactical advice throughout the day. There will be a whistle-stop tour of the key community care cases over the last 12 months, as well as a wide range of plenaries and workshops.
A little early, the quarterly update to the Handbook is now available, taking account, amongst others, of AGNI (deprivation of liberty), Gardner (transparency) and Bristol CC (instructing experts – and, also, an updated precedent letter of instruction).
The Court of Appeal has allowed the appeal against the decision of Poole J in Re AB (Disclosure of Position Statements)[2025] EWCOP 25 (T3) and made clear that the guidance given in that judgment about providing position statements to observers should not be followed. In Re Gardner (Deceased) (Court of Protection: Disclosure of Position Statements)[2025] EWCA Civ 640, Sir Stephen Cobb, the new President of the Court of Protection, giving the lead judgment provided a summary of his conclusions as follows at paragraph 12.
i. Court of Protection proceedings are private by default (rule 4.1 of the Court of Protection Rules 2017) (‘COPR 2017’), even where the court directs that hearings are to be held in public under rule 4.3 of the COPR 2017. Many hearings in the Court of Protection are of course in public, but a direction for a public hearing does not convert the proceedings into “public proceedings” equivalent to litigation in the civil courts or tribunals. The judge below erred in treating the proceedings as public simpliciter and in importing openness principles from jurisdictions which are public by default;
ii. Once lodged, position statements are “court records” within the meaning of rule 5.9(2) of the COPR 2017 (following Dring v Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd [2019] UKSC 38 [2020] AC 629) (‘Dring’). However, they are not automatically disclosable to observers or non‑parties, and court authorisation is required for disclosure of them to non‑parties under rule 5.9(2) COPR 2017;
iii. Open justice does not entitle observers to access all material informing judicial decision-making. Access to documents must be justified by a demonstrable application of the open justice principle, not by curiosity, research, education, or personal interest;
iv. Disclosure of position statements which cite highly personal source material from the written evidence is a serious interference with Article 8 ECHR rights; in this case, the court failed to engage with rule 5.9(4) COPR 2017 and specifically consider whether disclosure should be: refused, redacted, or subject to use restrictions (e.g., in relation to source evidence);
v. The procedure for disclosing position statements to members of the public should be considered as a matter of priority by the ad hoc Court of Protection Rule Committee (‘COPRC’); in the meantime, the guidance offered by the Judge at [J2/36] should not be followed; the court should in the meantime consider disclosing case summaries, chronologies and lists of issues to observers who request information;
vi. The Court of Protection exists for P’s benefit. Transparency must support justice, not overwhelm it.
The quarterly update to the Court of Protection Handbook is now up, covering such matters as the flurry of cases concerning personal welfare deputies, disclosure of position statements, and the new arrangements for securing pro bono representation before the Court of Protection.
The first quarterly update to the 5th Edition of the Court of Protection Handbook is now available on the Handbook website.
A reminder also of the training event to be held on 4 February 2026, at which our expert panelAlex Ruck Keene KC (Hon), Sophy Miles, Laura Mannering, andKate Edwards will guide you through a 90-minute session offering practical guidance on three critical areas for practitioners:
Closed Materials Guidance – Understanding its scope and application.
A Deputy’s Role and Recent Case Law – The implications of Riddle v NA [2025] EWCOP 39 (T3) and what it means for deputies.
Enforcing COP Orders – Managing enforcement challenges, including police involvement and forced entry.
The session will end with an interactive Q&A session.
Designed for those working in the Court of Protection, this session is designed to keep you ahead of the curve and demonstrate how the Handbook continues to evolve between editions.
To book, please see here (note that this is not a free event – apologies for the previous suggestion that it was, although delegates will also receive a code for 10% off the book so…)
Closed Materials Guidance – Understanding its scope and application.
A Deputy’s Role and Recent Case Law – The implications of Riddle v NA [2025] EWCOP 39 (T3) and what it means for deputies.
Enforcing COP Orders – Managing enforcement challenges, including police involvement and forced entry.
The session will end with an interactive Q&A session.
Designed for those working in the Court of Protection, this session is designed to keep you ahead of the curve and demonstrate how the Handbook continues to evolve between editions. Delegates will also receive a code for 10% off the book!
The new (2025, 5th) edition of the Court of Protection Handbook is now available, and accompanying website has been updated (not least to reflect the new jazzy green cover). Amongst other delights are:
(1) an updated sample chapter (5) on whether making an application is appropriate;
(2) updated sample pre-issue letter, witness statement, position statement and letters of instruction to an independent social worker and an independent psychiatrist;
(3) a new sample letter of instruction to a psychiatrist asked to produce a s.49 report and guidance on how to complete a s.49 report;
(4) materials already appearing on the updates pages to reflect developments since the book was published;
(5) a bonus PD which had slipped apparently everyone’s knowledge about cases involving Welsh speakers.
We would normally be publishing an update covering relevant developments over the past 3 months on this page, but the team (with some exciting new additions) are hard at work updating the 4th edition to a new, expanded, 5th edition. So bear with us if the page is not updated – but please do get in touch if you think that there are things that the 5th edition needs to cover, by email to alex.ruckkeene@39essex.com. We can’t promise we will be able to, but now is the time to ask!
The November 2024 update to the Court of Protection Handbook is now available on the website, covering such matters as the timing of serious medical treatment applications, the limits of the inherent jurisdiction and transparency.
The August 2024 quarterly update to the Court of Protection Handbook is now available on the Handbook website, including such matters as post-death costs for deputies, the enforcement powers of the Court of Protection and which decisions are for clinicians, and which for judges.
