In July 2022 the President of the Family Division launched the national deprivation of liberty court. Based at the Royal Courts of Justice, it deals with all new applications seeking authorisation to deprive children of their liberty under the inherent jurisdiction and will run for a 12-month pilot phase initially. Nuffield Family Justice Observatory was invited to collect and publish data on these applications.
Between July 2022 and January 2023, the national DoL court recorded a total of 797 applications. In the most recent month, January 2023, there were 125 applications. The applications were made by 138 different local authorities and 12 hospital or mental health trusts. Read more HERE.
Alongside this briefing we have also published a study detailing the needs and characteristics of children subject to deprivation of liberty applications.
