Government to Delay Implementation of LPS “Beyond Life” of Current Parliament
The Government announced on 5 April 2023 that it had taken the “difficult decision to delay the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards beyond the life of this Parliament” as part of wider plans to reform and improve adult social care set out in its paper “Next Steps to put People at the Heart of Care”.
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is the existing scheme for the assessment and authorisation of deprivations of liberty and was introduced to protect the human rights of those individuals who lack the mental capacity to consent to being deprived of their liberty. Following the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Cheshire West, the UK Government introduced the 2019 Act, with the view to repealing DoLS and replacing it with the LPS. Unlike DoLS (which only applies to arrangements in care homes and hospitals and to people aged 18 and above), the LPS would apply in all settings and also to anyone aged 16 and over.
In a letter addressed to stakeholders, the UK Government confirmed that it would be delaying the implementation of the LPS “beyond the life of this Parliament”, in the wake of the release of its plans for adult social care “Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care” on 4 April 2023. The next UK general election must be held by January 2025 at the latest.
The DHSC said in the letter that although the implementation of LPS has been delayed, it plans to publish a summary of responses to the LPS consultation “in due course”, which will set out further information about the feedback it received.
Responding to the government’s decision, VoiceAbility chief executive Jonathan Senker pointed to the seriousness of this issue.
“The government’s decision is an unacceptable blow to the thousands of people who are being unlawfully deprived of their liberty,” he said. “This means people are held in places they don’t want to live or face restrictions on where they go, without a legal basis for doing so.
“Imagine not being able to leave the place you live in even to get some fresh air or to go for a walk in the park? Or being separated from your family, spouse or partner, without an explanation that you understand as to why, or lacking any effective way of challenging this. The current system is failing thousands of people right now and isn’t fit for purpose.”
Mr Senker added: “Urgent change is needed to protect people’s rights. The government must work with local authorities now to ensure people’s voices are heard and their rights respected.”
As the sector will be continuing to use Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) for the immediate future, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is calling upon the DHSC to listen to the sector and make improvements to the current scheme, based on the changes that would have been introduced with the LPS. The funding that was earmarked for the implementation of LPS should also be made available to the sector in order to refresh the application of the MCA across health and social care. Access to Best Interest Assessor refresher training, which has not been readily available whilst awaiting news on the timetable for implementing the LPS, needs to be prioritised
BASW is also asking DHSC to work with their colleagues across Government to remedy the existing injustice regarding non-means tested legal aid for challenges to DoLS authorisations. DHSC needs to work with colleagues across Government to remedy the injustice whereby challenges to DOLS authorisations attract non-means tested legal aid whereas other challenges do not, for example where someone is awaiting a standard authorisation and an urgent authorisation has run out.
