Figures published by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, which monitors data produced by the DoL Court, reveal that there were 762 DoL applications in the six months since its operations began, covering the period from July to December 2022. This surpassed 2021’s annual total of 579 applications.
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DoL applications seek to permit a residential placement of a young person in circumstances where their liberty may be restricted.
On average, there have been 114 DoL applications per month, more than double the previous year’s monthly average of 48. In January alone, there were 125 applications submitted to the court.
According to the Observatory, August saw the highest number of DoL applications involving children, with 131 submitted.
In the six-months from July to December, 135 different local authorities and 10 hospital or mental health trusts issued DoL applications, with the Observatory noting that the majority of England's local authorities have applied for DoL orders.
In an analysis of data collected within the first six months of the court’s operations, the Observatory said that if current patterns continue, it can expect to see around 1,300 applications issued by the end of the 12-month court pilot scheme.
The Observatory notes several possible reasons for the surge in DoL applications, including the recent ban on unregulated residential placements for under-16s, lack of capacity in secure children’s homes and inpatient child mental health units, and increased complexity in the needs of the young people being referred into the system.
The specialist court for children was launched by Andrew McFarlane, president of the Family Division in July last year as a response to a surge in DoL applications involving children in 2021. The Observatory has been collecting and monitoring monthly data from the court, which is based at the Royal Courts of Justice.
The data collected covers all information on the C66 application form, which is used to apply for an order relating to children. The data is recorded by court staff and then analysed by the Observatory.
