This guidance will help solicitors and people working in health and social care to identify when a deprivation of liberty may be taking place.
Since the publication of our original guidance in 2015, there have been important developments in the law relating to deprivation of liberty, including clarification of the position of:
For several years, it had been anticipated that these developments would be reflected in an updated version of the statutory Code of Practice.
However, with the announcement of an indefinite delay to the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) in April 2023, there is no immediate prospect of an updated code to accompany the LPS.
This guidance draws together the assistance that can be found in the case law and from the practical experience of the authors who, in different contexts, advise upon and act in cases involving questions of deprivation of liberty.
It includes an overview of the legal framework, including the special considerations relating to those under 18.
The guidance applies that framework to different settings:
For each setting, a list of potentially ‘liberty-restricting’ factors are given that may indicate that a deprivation of liberty is occurring.
Scenarios are also given, which illustrate:
Each chapter concludes with a list of questions that professionals can ask themselves whenever they are confronted with a situation which may amount to a deprivation of liberty.
You can download the whole guidance below, or as individual chapters covering specific care settings.
You can also download quick reference guides for each setting.
