Annual Number of Applications to Legal Aid Bureau to Appoint Deputy under Mental Capacity Act

2 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Law for the past five years, what is (i) the annual number of applications to the Legal Aid Bureau in respect of applications to appoint a deputy under the Mental Capacity Act and (ii) the annual percentage of applicants who have successfully received such legal aid assistance.

Mr K Shanmugam: The Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) provides legal advice and legal assistance on civil matters to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents who pass the means test. Applicants for legal aid also have to pass a merits test.

The statistics on the applications LAB received between 2017 and 2021 in respect of applications to appoint a deputy under the Mental Capacity Act are provided in the table below.

Applicants who do not qualify for legal aid may engage a private lawyer. They may also seek help from the Law Society Pro Bono Services, the Community Justice Centre and more than 50 other legal clinics run by various community, religious and voluntary welfare organisations.

Litigants-in-persons may apply online for urgent short-term orders (limited to $5,000) and long-term orders up to $80,000 that fall under the Mental Capacity Act simplified track via the Family Integrated Application Management Systems (iFAMs).