Nuffield Family Justice Observatory has provided an update on the progress of the national deprivation of liberty court, which was launched in July 2022 by the President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane.
The court, which is based at the Royal Courts of Justice, 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.
The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory was invited to collect and publish data on these applications. Their monthly briefing highlights high-level data trends.
How many applications are there each month?
In the first two months of the national deprivation of liberty court, there were 237 applications – 101 in July and 136 in August. The applications were made by 96 different local authorities and 5 hospital or mental health trusts.
How does the number of applications vary by region?
In July and August 2022, a quarter (25.1%) of applications were made by local authorities in the North West of England, followed by 15.4% of applications from London and 11.5% from the South West.
The Observatory say that particular caution should be exercised when interpreting this data due to the small sample size and the fact we only have two months of data. As data collection continues, we will be able to build a better picture about how the use of deprivation of liberty applications varies across the country.
How old are the children?
The majority of children (56.8%) involved in applications were aged 15 and above.
What gender are the children?
The number of girls and boys subject to applications is almost equal.
Source of data and images: Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. Note: there are several caveats and limitations to this data – for more information, see the Observatory’s website here.
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