National Deprivation of Liberty Court to deal with child cases
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, June 23, 2022
A national Deprivation of Liberty Court will deal with all new cases involving children, it has been announced.
The new court, announced by Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the Family Division, will launch on 4 July in response to an increase in deprivation of liberty applications involving children from 108 to 579 per year since 2018.
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The new court will be based at the Royal Courts of Justice under the leadership of Mr Justice Moor, McFarlane said.
Nuffield Family Justice Observatory will regularly collect and publish data from the court, it has also been announced.
Lisa Harker, director of Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, said: “We greatly appreciate the opportunity we’ve been given to monitor, analyse and publish data from the applications that the court will receive will be heard there.
“The lack of information on deprivation of liberty cases – especially about children deprived of their liberty in unregistered placements – is a serious issue, which we have started to address through our research. The new court is an important first step towards improved transparency on this issue. However, we also need to understand more about why cases are rising in the first place, and about what can be done to better meet the needs of the vulnerable children involved.”
McFarlane added: “This is important, sensitive work and the continued growth in the number of these applications to the family courts requires the creation of a dedicated listing protocol. The National Deprivation of Liberty Court will provide the necessary expertise in dealing with these matters.
“I am grateful to Lisa Harker and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory who have kindly agreed to conduct research which will enhance our understanding of the nature of this work.”