An appointee has to be aged 18 plus and can be a family member or trusted friend or a specialist organisation, who can be authorised by the DWP to become the person’s corporate appointee.

The local council can also act as the appointee, although there can be conflicts of interest when local authorities become appointees and, as such, many local authorities are choosing to partner with organisations such as The Money Carer Foundation. Many local authorities do not have enough resources to provide an appointeeship service, which is another reason why they are unable to take on the role.

Some care providers also still act as appointees however, again, due to the conflicts of interest, these arrangements are increasingly being discouraged by local authorities and the care services regulator as not reflecting best practice.