116.Subsection (1) sets out the types of expenditure that may be authorised by the Public Guardian under this Part of the Act. These include day to day household and living expenses and care costs, such as payments for home help services or for residential care. The Public Guardian’s fee for processing the application may be met from the adult’s funds but not the applicant’s legal fees or any other expenses incurred in relation to the application.
117.Subsection (2) allows the Public Guardian to authorise payments for items not included in subsection (1), at his discretion, for example, payments for small gifts to family members. Any such discretionary payments would have to fall within the general scope of the scheme for access to funds.
118.Subsections (3) and (4) clarify that the adult’s funds must be spent on the adult’s own requirements, although they may be used for shared household expenses, for example, where the withdrawer is the adult’s partner and lives in the same house.