The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has announced the appointment of 22 new Court of Protection General Visitors and the re-appointment of a further six.
General visitors are public appointees who support OPG in supervising court appointed deputies. They also play a key role in OPG investigations by conducting mental capacity assessments.
The appointments have had ministerial approval and the following list of new appointees started their tenure in April 2022, for a period of 10 years:
- Annie Smith
- Barry Purdell
- Clarah Abange
- Debbie Parker
- Elaine Bowden
- Elizabeth Rees
- Hilary Travis
- Janyce Quigley
- Katie Barker
- Katie Smith-Palomeque
- Kimberley Barrett
- Leah Austin
- Louise Ahrens
- Nicholas Rosenfeld
- Olumide Odubawo
- Saka Awokoya
- Sarah Flaxman
- Sarah Woodford
- Sughra Nazir
- Sullay Adekulay
- Suzanne Ryan
- William Walton
The following existing visitors were re-appointed in April 2022 for a further tenure of 10 years:
- Barry Whitmore
- Beverley Blythe
- Graeme Currie
- Mark Farnsworth
- Stephen Gray
- Sue Joyce
These are statutory appointments under section 61 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and have been made in line with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.
