DoLS

  • Directors' warning over delayed DoLS reforms

    17 April 2023

    Care directors have warned that delayed reforms mean some hospital patients will continue to be rushed off wards into care homes they may not need.


  • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards rise again

    15 August 2022

    The number of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLs) overseen by local authorities increased by 5.5% last year.


  • County lines and the blight on our young

    01 December 2021

    The justice system is not providing the adequate protection required by vulnerable children who are being exploited by ‘county lines’ criminal gangs, says Julian Hayes.


  • New safeguarding system delayed

    17 July 2020

    The full implementation of the replacement of the ‘overly bureaucratic and complicated’ deprivation of liberty safeguards has been delayed by 18 months.


  • Careful now

    14 March 2018

    Diary is well aware of Government’s innately cautious stance to pretty much everything.


  • Government backs DoLS replacement

    14 March 2018

    The Government has said it ‘agrees in principle’ that the current Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) system should be ‘replaced as a matter of pressing urgency’.


  • Brum welcomes landmark DoLs judgement

    31 October 2017

    The Court of Appeal has ruled that parents can sometimes consent on behalf of their 16 and 17 year old children to care arrangements that would otherwise be a deprivation of liberty.


  • Ombudsman report prompts fresh DoLS reform calls

    19 July 2017

    Fresh calls have been made for urgent reforms to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) system after people were found waiting for proper assessments for years.


  • Safeguard reforms could save councils billions

    13 March 2017

    Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are ‘unfit for purpose’ and must be scrapped immediately, the Law Commission has insisted.


  • Scrapping DoLS could protect patients and cut costs

    13 March 2017

    The Law Commission is urging the Government to scrap controversial DoLS and introduce a new system that will both protect patients and produce real savings. Nicholas Paines QC explains.


  • DoLS rise to record level

    28 September 2016

    The number of applications for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) received by councils has continued to rise to a record level, new figures have revealed.


  • Hunt in court fight over DoLS

    15 June 2016

    A cross-party coalition of councils is taking health secretary Jeremy Hunt to court over his government’s failure to fully fund deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS).


  • Health and social care ‘lack strong leaders’

    16 December 2015

    A lack of strong leadership and vision across both health and social care sectors are the biggest barriers to early intervention, according to a new survey.


  • DOL applications tally falls as new system is mooted

    03 November 2015

    The number of applications for a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DOLs) received by local authorities has fallen for the first time in 18 months, as town hall bosses come out against its potential replacement.


  • Care funding gap to reach £3bn

    12 October 2015

    Town hall chiefs have warned the social care funding gap is to rise to £2.9bn by the end of the decade.


  • No quiet summer for lawyers

    18 August 2015

    Summer is not a quiet time for local government lawyers, as the summer break provides an opportunity for Parliament and other bodies to publish consultations and inquiries, writes LLG vice president Bev Cullen.


  • New scheme to 'reduce burdens' proposed

    07 July 2015

    The Law Commission has launched a consultation today on a new scheme designed to reduce ‘unnecessary burdens’ on local councils.