UNDERSTANDING POWER OF ATTORNEY (PoA)
Clear, plain-English guidance on Power of Attorney in Scotland — what PoA can and cannot legally do, your rights under the law, and what to do when safeguarding fails. Written by families with lived experience.
Your rights
• What PoA can and cannot do
• What to do when things go wrong
If you’re feeling lost, scared, shut out or unsure what your rights are — start here.
This page explains what Power of Attorney legally can and cannot do, what authorities must do, and the exact wording you can use when something feels wrong.
You are not powerless.
You are not overreacting.
And you are absolutely not alone.
What is a Power of Attorney (PoA)?
A Power of Attorney (PoA) is a legal document that allows one person to make decisions on another adult’s behalf if they cannot do so themselves.
Types of PoA in Scotland (important)
There are two main types:
• Welfare PoA – health, care and day-to-day decisions
• Continuing PoA – financial decisions
Both only take effect once registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).
Neither gives unlimited power.
1. What PoA Is Supposed to Be
A Power of Attorney is meant to:-
• help the adult
• protect their rights
• support their wishes
• involve family
• make life easier — not harder
It is not meant to control, isolate, silence, or erase family from someone’s life.
2. What PoA CANNOT Legally Do
(No matter what anyone tells you)
A PoA cannot:-
❌ ban family from visiting
❌ stop phone calls or messages
❌ isolate someone in a care home
❌ instruct staff to block contact
❌ authorise deprivation of liberty (locked doors, no outings)
❌ block information from close family
❌ override the adult’s wishes
❌ override human rights
❌ act without evidence or justification
❌ make decisions before the PoA is legally registered
Many families are never told this.
Some professionals act as if none of this exists.
3. Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 — Your Rights
Every single PoA decision must follow all five legal principles:-
1️⃣ Benefit the adult
2️⃣ Be the least restrictive option
3️⃣ Take the adult’s past and present wishes into account
4️⃣ Consult relevant family and others
5️⃣ Support the adult to use remaining abilities (e.g. seeing family)
If these principles were ignored, the decision may be unlawful — even if a care home or social work says otherwise.
If this is happening — DO THIS
Copy & paste:
“Please show how this decision meets all five AWI Section 1 principles.
I cannot see evidence of wishes, consultation, or least-restrictive practice.”
📌 Pro tip: Keep a dedicated folder (paper or digital) with the PoA, emails, letters, and notes of calls (dates, names, what was said).
4. Adult Support & Protection (ASP) — Protection From Harm
Under the ASP Act, harm includes:-
• emotional harm
• psychological harm
• coercive control
• isolation or blocked contact
• neglect
• undue pressure
Councils must investigate if they have reasonable cause to suspect harm — even when a PoA exists.
If ASP is ignored — DO THIS
Copy & paste:
“I am reporting emotional harm and undue pressure under the Adult Support & Protection Act.
A PoA does not remove your duty to inquire.
Please confirm an ASP inquiry has been opened.”
5. Mental Welfare Commission (MWC) — Isolation = Restraint
The Mental Welfare Commission is clear:-
• A PoA cannot authorise deprivation of liberty
• A PoA cannot ban visits
• Emotional or social isolation counts as restraint
• Restraint must be lawful, justified and proportionate
• Major treatment / DNR decisions require extra legal authority
If you’re told “the PoA says no” — DO THIS
Copy & paste:
“According to the Mental Welfare Commission (Rights, Risks & Limits to Freedom), a PoA cannot authorise deprivation of liberty or isolation.
Please show the legal basis for this restriction.”
Most of the time, there isn’t one.
6. Anne’s Law — Family Contact
Every care-home resident has the right to:-
✔ meaningful family contact
✔ a named Essential Visitor who cannot be banned
✔ no unreasonable barriers to visiting
A PoA cannot override Anne’s Law.
If a care home blocks you — DO THIS
Copy & paste:
“Anne’s Law guarantees meaningful family contact and an Essential Visitor.
‘The PoA says no’ is not a lawful reason for restricting visits.
Please confirm the legal authority for this decision.”
7. Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 — Right to Be Involved
Close family carers have the right to:-
✔ be consulted
✔ be involved in care planning
✔ receive relevant information
Excluding family is not acceptable practice.
8. Human Rights — Family Life & Liberty
Under Articles 5 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights:-
• Isolation can breach the adult’s rights
• Blocking contact interferes with family life
• Detention (locked doors / no outings) requires lawful authority
Copy & paste:
“This restriction interferes with Article 8 (family life) and may engage Article 5 (liberty).
Please provide the legal authority permitting this.”
9. If These Rights Are Being Ignored
You do not need a solicitor.
You can:
• contact Adult Protection
• contact the Mental Welfare Commission
• submit a concern to the OPG
• ask your MSP to intervene
You are allowed to ask questions.
You are allowed to challenge decisions.
You are allowed to say no.
10. Exact Wording to Use (Quick Reference)
• “The PoA says no.”
👉 “Can you show the legal authority for this restriction?”
• Visit restrictions
👉 “Please explain how this meets all five AWI Section 1 principles.”
• Contact blocked
👉 “Isolation is emotional harm under the ASP Act. I am requesting an ASP inquiry.”
• Care home refusal
👉 “Anne’s Law requires meaningful family contact. Please confirm compliance.”
• Being dismissed
👉 “I am asking for lawful, evidence-based decision-making.”
11. You Are Not Alone
Every protection on this page should have safeguarded my own family.
They didn’t — and we know we’re not the only ones.
By families coming forward, we can:
• expose what’s really happening
• protect each other
• make authorities follow the law
• stop people being erased in silence
Your experience matters.
🌿 Important note
This page is based on public information and lived experience.
We are not lawyers — we’re families who learned the hard way.
Nothing here is legal advice.
Everything you share stays private unless you say otherwise.