Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Deprivation of Liberty orders were issued each month since July to individuals in care who were under 16 years old.

The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on the number of deprivation of liberty orders in relation to individuals in care who were under 16 years old.

Applications for deprivation of liberty orders can be made by local authorities when they need to accommodate a child in a non-secure placement. Cafcass – the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – collect the data on these applications from local authorities and 164 deprivation of liberty applications were made in the period 1 July – 31 October 2021.