The Mental Health Caseworkers Section of HM Prison and Probation Service has recently produced guidance on ‘Discharge conditions that amount to a deprivation of liberty.’ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharge-conditions-that-amount-to-a-deprivation-of-liberty This refers to the recommendation in the independent review of the MHA published on 6 December 2018…
The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill was introduced to the House of Lords yesterday for its first reading, following a Law Commission consultation last year. The bill seeks to replace the current DoLs regime with ‘Liberty Protection Safeguards’. It recognises the difficulties inherent…
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently published a report on the rise in the use of the Mental Health Act (MHA) to detain people. The report identifies that: 80% of patients on acute wards are now detained detentions have increased by 40%…
Deprivation of Liberty for Young Persons (16 and 17 year olds) and Parental Consent The Court of Appeal considered whether a 16 year old boy’s parents could authorise the young person’s deprivation of liberty at a residential community placement in In Re…
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 (PCA) received Royal Assent on 31 January 2017 and comes into force on Monday 3 April 2017. The legislation deals with a broad range of areas affecting police and crime and makes some changes to…
The Law Commission published its report and draft Bill on 13 March 2017 following a three year review of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) regime. The review was requested by Government as local councils were seen struggling to cope with the…
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 was granted Royal Assent on 31 January 2017. Section 178 of the Act will, once in force, amend the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 as follows: ‘But a person is not in state detention at any…
A Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) must be legally authorised, even if the person in question is living in their own home and using privately-paid carers. The Court of Appeal handed down judgment in December in the case of Secretary of State…
For those who missed our Annual Mental Health Conference last month, or whose memories benefit from a little jogging, a very brief outline: Peter Mant of 39 Essex Street took us through the developments in the Court of Protection in the…
Since their inception in April 2009, the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), have proved administratively problematic, particularly since the clarification given by the Supreme Court in the Cheshire West case in March 2014 where the established characteristics of a deprivation…
