An appointee is a person or organisation appointed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to manage the welfare benefits of someone who cannot manage their own affairs due to a mental or physical disability or other reasons.
The appointee is responsible for ensuring the person's welfare benefits are applied for accurately, received in a separate bank account, and used for the person's benefit.
A corporate appointee is an organisation appointed by the DWP to manage the welfare benefit responsibilities of a claimant.
Examples of corporate appointees include organisations like CarePouch and local authorities.
If a person is living in supported housing, a care or nursing home, and is receiving welfare benefits along with a social care package but is incapable of managing their finances, they may need a corporate appointee.
A corporate appointee helps manage the individual’s welfare benefit payments and legal responsibilities.
Changes in appointeeship may arise due to a variety of issues, for example; general suitability, fund access, safeguarding concerns etc.
In this scenario, the existing appointee must agree to relinquish their role, and the new appointee must apply by completing a BF56 form and sending it to the DWP. The DWP will review the request to ensure it is in the best interest of the benefit claimant.
If the current appointee wishes to step down and nominates another person or organisation, or if the individual receiving benefits is unhappy with their appointee and can choose a new one, they can request a change.
This could be because they:
In this scenario, the DWP decides whether to remove someone. This is not you or your appointee’s decision. The DWP will remove an appointee if:
To ask to remove your appointee, you need to contact the service at the DWP that manages your benefit.
The DWP may visit you and your appointee to decide whether to remove them. The DWP will send a letter with the date of their visit, and the name of the visiting officer.vAfter the visit, they will write to you and your appointee. They can decide to remove, keep or change your appointee.
The DWP might find that your appointee is not suitable but decide that you still need an appointee. This means you need to find a new appointee as quickly as possible, so it is worth thinking about who could replace your appointee.
An appointee must be aged 18 or older and can be a family member, trusted friend, or specialist organisation authorised by the DWP to become the person's appointee.
The local council can also act as an appointee, but conflicts of interest may arise, leading many local authorities to partner with organisations such as CarePouch.
Due to resource constraints, many local authorities are unable to provide an appointeeship service. Some care providers may also act as appointees, but this is increasingly discouraged by local authorities and care services regulators due to potential conflicts of interest.
Our service can be funded in various ways to suit individual circumstances:
If there are no family members or friends willing or suitable to take on the appointeeship role, the local council or a specialist organisation, such as CarePouch, can be authorised by the DWP to act as the appointee.
However, conflicts of interest may arise, and many local authorities prefer to partner with independent organisations to avoid these issues.
Social services can request an appointee as part of best interest or safeguarding decisions.
Social workers regularly request appointeeships when undertaking care plan assessments.
To become a service user of CarePouch, you must reside in one fo the following countries:
Corporate appointeeship is governed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) regulations and applies uniformly across these nations within the United Kingdom, though some devolved powers (particularly in Scotland) may affect aspects of social care and benefit administration.
For UK citizens living outside the UK, corporate appointeeship does not typically extend to individuals residing abroad. UK benefits are generally only paid to residents within the UK, with exceptions for those in specific European Economic Area (EEA) countries or Switzerland under reciprocal agreements.
For those living abroad: