Job Title: Authorised Court Officer
Grade: Senior Executive Officer (SEO)
Location: Court of Protection, First Avenue House, London WC1V 6NP
This is a general job description covering the likely scope of work of the post holder.
About us
As part of HM Courts and Tribunals Service, the Court of Protection is the specialist court for England
and Wales that deals with decision making for adults (and in some cases children) who may lack
capacity to make decisions themselves. The bulk of the work relates to decisions about property and
financial affairs, but the court also deals with serious decisions about healthcare and personal
welfare, including whether someone can be deprived of their liberty under the Mental Capacity Act.
The central registry of the court is in London, First Avenue House, with regional hubs and hearing
centres across England and Wales.
We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that
represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We
champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels
valued and a sense of belonging.
To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-
of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.
The Role
Working closely with the judiciary and the court administration teams, an Authorised Court Officer
(ACO) is authorised to exercise the jurisdiction of the court in accordance with Practice Direction 2B
to assess applications on receipt, make certain case management decisions and make final
determinations on certain property and affairs applications. The ACO will work under the guidance
and supervision of the Senior Judge and will exercise independence and impartiality in the use of
their powers.
Based in the central registry of the court, the ACO will support the effective operation of the Court of
Protection by exercising the jurisdiction of the court as set out in Rule 2.2 of the Court of Protection
Rules 2017 and Practice Direction 2B. ACOs appoint deputies in respect of the property and financial
affairs of a person who lacks capacity to make a decision or decisions in relation to any matter which
is the subject of the application, and determine certain other applications under the Mental Capacity
Act 2005 on the basis of paper consideration (without hearings.)
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Key Responsibilities:
Initial case assessment
• Initial consideration of applications within PD2B paragraph 2.1 to ensure that: all relevant
information has been provided; the applicant has provided all necessary evidence and
supporting documents, including satisfactory evidence of capacity.
• Make case management directions within paragraph 3 of PD2B to address any shortcoming in
the application.
• Ensure applications are referred to a judge where appropriate.
Appointing deputies and making decisions
• Make final orders appointing a property and affairs deputy.
• Ensuring that the deputy’s powers are appropriate to the circumstances of the case, taking into
account all relevant factors, and assessing any financial risk.
• Setting an appropriate level of security
• Varying the powers of a property and affairs deputy acting under an existing order.
• Assessing applications relating to the sale and purchase of property, including jointly held
property.
• Dealing with applications to sell or otherwise deal with investments
• Making urgent interim orders or other one-off orders as appropriate
Appointment and discharge of trustees
• Make orders to appoint or discharge trustees under the Trustee Act 1925 or the Mental
Capacity Act 2005.
Case management work
• Allowing extensions or variations to time limits in accordance with court rules in applications
within PD2B paragraph 2.1
• Considering applications to obtain copy documents or inspect the court file
Leadership
• Provide visible leadership to managers and staff and role model engaging behaviours and
challenge non-engaging behaviours in managers.
• Leading by example, coaching, supporting and developing staff and guiding them through a
substantial and significant change.
• Support managers across the court in the ongoing use of TIBs, SOPs and continuous
improvement activity, enabling staff to achieve the highest performance standards.
• Working with managers across the cluster / region to ensure cohesive cross-cluster delivery.
Developing new policies / processes, etc
• Developing innovative proposals for introducing policy change, drawing on best practice for
managing change.
• Identifying and implementing solutions to complex local problems.
• Task or commission work to review and improve local processes.
• Assess the impact of new policies or processes on current performance.
• Keep up to date with relevant policy changes and case law and assist the court manager to
communicate and implement any change.
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Operational and judicial support
• Establish and enhance effective working relationships with the judiciary, supporting agencies,
voluntary and user groups. Working with agencies to improve the level of service offered to
users.
• Provide direction and close support to Delivery Managers, setting local priorities which are
consistent with regional and national priorities.
• Be proactive in reviewing processes to identify improvements, understanding and managing
associated risks; building on team strengths to deliver business outcomes and involve the
team in developing plans and consistent messages.
• Provide support to the judiciary
• Perform Responsible Officer duties. This may include any of the following activities:
o Identify and implement solutions to local problems
o Identify risks
o Ensuring IT/Workstation compliance at all times
o Ensure compliance with health and safety requirements
o Ensuring Risk Assessments take place at appropriate times
o Maintenance of an up-to-date Asset Register
o Ensure any issues regarding level of service for Estates Facilities Management are
escalated to MoJ Estates
• Constructively manage complaints within set timescales, and ensure corrective action taken
where necessary.
• Apply CI principles, tools and techniques to working practices to improve efficiency of
operations.
• Working with teams across the justice family, including policy teams, the Official Solicitor and
the Office of the Public Guardian to deliver a joined up service for mutual clients.
• Establishing a consistent and customer focussed service.
• Ensuring the effective deployment of resources to live within the allocated budget and to meet
the Court of Protection’s overriding objective.
Specialist skills
• To have a comprehensive knowledge of Court of Protection procedure, application processes,
rules, and practice directions.
• To have working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Accountability
• Reporting to the court manager who is responsible for conduct and attendance.
• Accountable to the Senior Judge for the exercise of jurisdiction pursuant to PD 2B
Desirable experience
• Experience of exercising delegated authorised jurisdiction.
Other Duties
The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably
requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of
this post.
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Operational Delivery in HMCTS
This role is part of the Operational Delivery Profession. Operational delivery professionals are the
outward face of government, providing essential services to the public in a variety of roles. They work
in many different departments and agencies across the breadth of the UK, delivering service to
customers in;
Face-to-face roles in HMCTS, for example a court usher
Contact Centre roles in HMCTS, for example call centre advisers
Processing roles in HMCTS, for example Staff at the County Courts Money-Claims Centre and
Courts and Tribunal Administration.
Being part of the operational delivery profession means belonging to a cross-government community
of people. This will offer you access to information on professional standards, skills development and
qualifications to help you continue to improve your development and performance and expand your
career options.
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