Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent Supreme Court ruling concerning which individuals in care homes and hospitals should be subject to a deprivation of liberty assessment; and if he will make a statement.

On 19 March 2014, the Supreme Court handed down a judgment that clarified the test for what constitutes a deprivation of liberty. The clarified test is: “An individual who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the arrangements for his or her care and is under continuous control and supervision and is not free to leave”.

Following the judgment, the Department issued an advice note to health and care professionals and local authorities to highlight this legal interpretation and its implications.

The Department is currently monitoring the effects of the judgment on the health and care system and on local authorities. The Health and Social Care Information Centre will carry out an additional voluntary data collection. This will gather information from local authorities on how many applications have been received for authorisations in care homes and hospitals under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards since the judgment. We expect the data to be available in October 2014; this will facilitate an assessment of the judgment’s impact.

At the Department’s request, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services is leading a task group to consider the implications of the judgment. This group has representation from local authorities, NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and the Department. The group intends to issue advice in the autumn.