The letter, addressed to Cabinet Secretary for Justice Angela Constance MSP and Public Guardian Fiona Brown, calls for urgent modernisation of how powers of attorney are verified and used in Scotland.

The problem with POA in Scotland

The core issue is the verification of power of attorney (POA). Scots trying to use their POA face unnecessary barriers that simply don’t exist in other parts of the UK. 

In England and Wales, an attorney can provide a digital access code to an organisation, which can instantly confirm the validity of the POA. In Scotland, no such digital system exists. Instead, attorneys are most often required to provide a paper copy of the POA document, with some banks requiring a copy that has been certified within the past six months. This means repeatedly visiting solicitors for updated certifications and enduring lengthy verification procedures just to carry out basic tasks on behalf of a loved one, such as travelling back and forth to bank branches to prove identity in person.

When someone needs to act urgently on behalf of a vulnerable family member, perhaps to access funds for care home fees, pay essential bills, or make important healthcare decisions, these hurdles create unnecessary friction on top of what is often an already stressful time.

England and Wales adopted digital verification methods several years ago, and as of April 2025, over two million POA had been registered digitally, allowing for instant verification through codes. So why has Scotland been left behind?

Austin Lafferty supports this call for change

Austin has extensive experience in Scottish family law and estate planning, and has witnessed firsthand the difficulties clients face when trying to put their POA documents into practice. Adopting a digital verification system similar to what is proven to work across England and Wales would significantly improve the experience for Scottish attorneys, without compromising security or legal protections.

This isn’t about a complete reform of Scottish law. It’s about applying modern technology to remove unnecessary friction from a system that works well in principle, but falls short in practice.

The letter sent on Thursday, 5 February 2026, from Martin Lewis, and co-signed by Austin Lafferty, in full, says:

Dear Cabinet Secretary and Ms Brown

I wanted to write to you as we believe people in Scotland are being sub-served when they come to use their Power of Attorney compared with other UK nations. This came to light most obviously in my podcast (September 2025), where listener Margaret told me:

″In Scotland why do I always have to get a newly certified copy of the Power of Attorney as banks won’t accept one certified more than six months ago? Why isn’t there a code system as in England?″

On the show was Austin Lafferty, solicitor and former president of the Law Society of Scotland. He agreed with this situation and is indeed a co-signatory to this letter.

Whilst there is no requirement for banks, healthcare providers, and other selected organisations to use access codes in England and Wales, it has increasingly become a widespread practice, with two million Powers of Attorney registered digitally as of April 2025. The codes allow an organisation to instantly view a digital summary of the Power of Attorney, cutting down on the time delays and inconvenience of getting hold of a paper copy.

I believe that introducing something akin to access codes in Scotland could reduce some of the stickiness that can arise during the process of trying to use a Power of Attorney. This letter asks you to look at doing just that.

I’ve heard of examples of people in Scotland struggling to get their authority as an attorney recognised when they need it urgently to act on behalf of their loved one. This even includes the person with the Power of Attorney having to traipse into a branch to prove their identity when they are already known to the bank, and going through lengthy procedures to be able to make any progress.

This causes unnecessary stress for everyone involved, at what is usually an already stressful and vulnerable time for people. This can even include disabled or vulnerable adults who need their Attorneys to be able to make decisions about their finances and/or health. Our feedback is that this is often worse when dealing with financial services firms, which are slower to accept Powers of Attorney than local authorities and hospitals.

Austin and his professional colleagues find the system for creating and registering Powers of Attorney in Scotland to be excellent, but the onward use and interface with financial institutions can often be problematic. I understand that in the past Office of the Public Guardian Scotland has said it does not provide verification codes as they are not necessary for registered Powers of Attorney in Scotland. However, it seems to me that they could be a way to improve things for people in Scotland.

I urge you to bring in a similar system (or other efficient system) to England and Wales’s access codes – let’s make it easier for the people of Scotland who are already under difficult and emotional circumstances to put their Power of Attorney into use.

Kind regards,

Martin Lewis

Founder and Chair, MoneySavingExpert

Founder and Chair, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute

Co-signed by

Austin Lafferty

Solicitor, former President of the Law Society of Scotland