Agenda item

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services, in respect of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019, which replaced the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) with the Liberty Protection Safeguards.

Members noted that the legislation was postponed during Covid but there are  currently no implementation dates, nor details around the training and qualification pathways for new Mental Capacity Professionals.  Once these details are known, the Department will need a minimum of 6-months to train staff.  Members noted that a liberty protection safeguard, or deprivation of liberty, had previously been defined by the Courts.  As this had been a very wide definition, it was likely that it would narrow within the new Code of Practice, which is expected during the Winter of 2022/23.  In the City, the numbers had always been low.

The officer further explained that, under current case law, anyone under continuous supervision will be subject to deprivation of liberty protection, including those who are allowed into the community but need to be back at a certain time.  Early indications suggest that these clients might fall in scope of the new legislation.    Following an initial impact assessment, the implementation group do not expect a significant impact on the City.  The biggest changes are likely to be in respect of 16-17 year olds, as the deprivation of liberty safeguard only applied at age 18 or above.    There was also an expectation that it would be cost neutral, with government funding becoming available for training and development.

Members asked if they could have further training once the new procedures had been published and noted the recent training session around Children’s Safeguarding had been very well attended by Sub Committee Members. 

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.