Government taskforce set up to tackle rise in DoL orders

The ‘task and finish’ group has been established by the Department for Education and NHS England in response to a report published by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory last month which called for a complete overhaul of the support system for children subject to DoL orders.

• Analysis: Factors behind sharp growth in deprivation of liberty orders

• Interview: Lisa Harker, director, the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

The Nuffield FJO report includes figures from the National DoL Court – a specialist branch of the Family Court set up in July 2022 - which showed there were 1,389 DoL order applications mostly from local authorities in England and Wales in the year to June 2023. These related to 1,249 children, 96 per cent of whom were already in council care.

Figures previously collected by Cafcass (the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) showed that in the year to June 2022 there were 579 DoL order applications – a rise from 108 in 2018.

The National DoL Court figures suggest the number of applications in the year to June 2023 has more than doubled, which has prompted Whitehall action.

The joint DfE and NHS England group is to identify better ways to support children who are subject to deprivation of liberty orders. The group, made up of senior civil servants and experts in the care and family justice systems, is expected to report its findings by spring next year.

DoL orders are often used when a place in a secure children’s home or mental health in-patient unit cannot be found for a child in care with significant welfare needs. Instead, the High Court can use its powers under inherent jurisdiction to deprive them of their liberty in an unregulated placement.

In August, Ofsted published new guidance warning that providers must register with the inspectorate immediately if a child is placed with them under a DoL order.

It followed research published in June that showed more than half of children subject to a DoL order were placed in at least one unregistered setting in the first six months of it being granted. 

Lisa Harker, director of Nuffield FJO, said: “Our evidence shows that these are some of the most vulnerable children. Many have faced ongoing trauma, or have learning and physical disabilities, or are at risk of sexual or criminal exploitation. These children desperately need stability of relationships around them, a tailored and long-term plan of intervention and support delivered by a multi-agency team and some agency in determining what happens to them. Such needs are not being met – and the current patchwork of temporary support available to them is doing more harm than good.”

The DfE and NHS England have been contacted for comment.