Back in October 2017 the then Prime Minister Theresa May announced a review of the Mental Health Act chaired by Prof Simon Wessely. That review reported in December 2018 and the Queen’s speech in 2020 reiterated the Government’s commitment to…
We confirmed in a previous briefing that the commencement of the Liberty Protection Safeguards (“LPS”) in October this year to replace the current DoLS scheme had been postponed. The Government has now announced in a written statement that these should come…
As a result of the obvious need to focus on the coronavirus pandemic, there has been little reference recently to the liberty protection safeguards that were due to come into force on 1 October 2020. Although the primary legislation was passed,…
The High Court has recently given a decision[1] regarding the exercise of its inherent jurisdiction to regularise a care plan that had been put in place for a patient (referred to as AB) who was subject to a hospital order…
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 legal issues arising where children are detained without using the formal mechanism of the Mental Health Act has been subject to debate and litigation over recent years and the Court of Appeal is still due to decide whether a parent…
The answer to this thorny issue has been awaiting a decision by the Court of Appeal. The Court has now handed down its judgment[1]. Conditional discharge The Court of Appeal held that neither the Secretary of State nor the Tribunal has the…
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…
