DoLS Backlog Falls Slightly, But Fewer Than One In Four Standard Applications Meet The 21-Day Deadline
Fewer than a quarter of standard Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) applications in England were completed within the 21-day statutory timeframe last year, according to official statistics published this week.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) figures cover 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Councils received 380,715 applications, up 4.3% on the 364,900 recorded in 2024 to 2025. The 2015 to 2016 total was 195,840, so the annual count has nearly doubled in a decade.
Of the 157,160 standard (non-urgent) applications completed, 22.8% (35,805) met the 21-day deadline. That is up 1.7 percentage points from 21.1% the year before. By The Carer’s calculation, around 121,000 standard applications were therefore completed outside the statutory timeframe.
The average (mean) time from receipt to completion fell to 117 days, from 126 days in 2024 to 2025.
Backlog edges down
Councils completed 372,145 applications during the year, up 5.1% on 2024 to 2025. At year end, 116,355 applications were still outstanding, down 2.1% from 118,850. The gap between applications received and completed has narrowed from 90,785 in 2015 to 2016 to 8,570 in 2025 to 2026.
The number of outstanding cases peaked at 131,350 in 2018 to 2019. It has stayed at around 120,000 to 126,000 in recent years, falling further this year.
The statistics note that 58.2% of applications had an urgent authorisation attached. These are the interim permissions that care homes and hospitals can grant themselves while a full assessment is awaited.
Half closed without assessment
Of the completed applications:
• 168,995 (45.4%) were fully assessed, up 5.8% on the previous year
• 16,015 (4.3%) were closed after a partial assessment, down 0.7%
• 187,130 (50.3%) were closed without any assessment, up 5.0%
The proportion closed without assessment has barely changed, at 50.2% in 2023 to 2024 and 50.3% in 2025 to 2026. The publication does not give reasons. It defines “not granted” outcomes as including cases where the person has died or their circumstances have changed.
Of the fully assessed applications, 164,835 (97.5%) were granted and 4,160 (2.5%) were not. The proportion not granted is unchanged from 2024 to 2025.
DoLS are the legal framework under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for people in care homes and hospitals who lack the capacity to consent to their care arrangements, where those arrangements may amount to a deprivation of liberty. Applications are independently assessed to ensure the arrangements are in the person’s best interests. Councils with adult social services responsibilities act as supervisory bodies.
Of England’s 153 councils, all but Redbridge supplied data. The figures count applications, not individual people. This is the second year DHSC rather than NHS England has published the statistics. An interactive dashboard with local authority-level figures is planned for early next year on NHS England’s adult social care data hub. Statistics on legal challenges to DoLS authorisations are published separately by the Ministry of Justice.
