Mayors express concern over rising waiting times for guardianship cases in Denmark

Mayors from various political parties in Denmark are united in their discontent regarding the rising waiting times for guardianship cases. Currently, the expected processing period for establishing a guardianship—such as for a person with dementia—extends to ten months, nearly three times longer than it was a year ago. The reasons behind this delay are subjects of debate among the mayors, who have differing views on whether it’s due to poor management, insufficient staffing, or newly enacted laws.

Mette Thiesen, the social spokesperson from the Danish People’s Party, expressed frustration over the situation, suggesting a lack of manpower and financial resources, or inefficiencies in addressing the cases internally. She emphasized that the current state of affairs is unacceptable.

Despite the lack of additional funds earmarked for the guardianship department in next year’s budget, SF group leader Theresa Berg Andersen remains optimistic. She pointed out the possibility of reallocating unspent funds to support guardianship cases and highlighted that the legislative parties can still influence the final distribution of money to the Family Court.

Conversely, Preben Bang Henriksen, the legal spokesperson for the Liberal Party, argues against the necessity of more funding. He believes that a thorough review of the guardianship law could yield quicker control mechanisms to alleviate the backlog.

Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard described the situation as “deeply unsatisfactory.” While he refrained from commenting on potential funding increases for the Family Court, he announced plans for legislative changes aimed at simplifying the process, which he hopes will lead to shorter waiting times for cases.