The Supreme Court's judgment on deprivation of liberty

You may be aware that the Supreme Court has recently issued a judgment which significantly changes the legal approach to determining whether a person is deprived of their liberty. The judgement can be seen here A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland of a devolution issue under paragraph 34 o….

We would encourage you to familiarise yourselves with the judgment and carefully consider the implications for your services and practice. Please see the following links for further information: CQC statement on the Supreme Court's judgment on deprivation of liberty - Care Quality Commission and 2026-UKSC-16-Summary-for-website.pdf.

We ask that you refer to this updated position when making any new referrals to the DoLS team.  In addition, as the change came into effect immediately from 2 June, please review any recent DoLS referrals you have made. You should consider whether, in light of this revised approach, any of these referrals may no longer be appropriate.

We hope this offers reassurance whilst we wait for additional National guidance to be disseminated.  At this stage we don’t have further information, but if you have a specific query, you can contact the MCA DoLS Duty Team at Dolforms@essex.gov.uk

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Market Context

The Children Act 1989 was amended by the Children’s (Leaving Care) Act 2000. This imposes accommodation duties on LA's to support LAC and care leavers aged 16 and 17. Including care leavers over 18 who are ineligible for housing by the Local Housing Authority. We currently commission via a framework which is split across 4 lots: 

  • Lot A) SA and support to eligible and relevant young people aged 16 and 17-year olds.
  • Lot B) SA and support for Separated Migrant Children (SMC) aged 16 and 17, including initial age assessment where required.
  • Lot C) Accommodation for families and young people aged 18+ with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).
  • Lot D) SA and support for eligible and relevant young people aged 16 and 17, who have complex needs that require extended, intensive support and supervision.

Current Market Status

SA Providers are currently being onboarded with Ofsted registration. With all providers being required to be registered by October 2023. The SA market in Essex is currently commissioned via a Framework agreement which is scheduled to be refreshed in the later part of 2023. Relationships with the market are generally stable currently. Much of our engagement has been around the Ofsted registration requirements.

Market Quality Market Supply Market Demand
Moderate Low High/Very High
Market Workface Market Ambition Market Maturity
Low Increase Supply Established

 

TBA

Total Number of Providers:

45

Total Number of Placements

337

Total Market Spend per year:

£9.0m

ECC Funded Placements:

405

Number of Provider Entries/Placements (20/21):

337

Number of Provider Exits/Placements (20/21):

67

Provider Quality – Good or Outstanding:

N/A

Average Accommodation Placement Size:

N/A

Framework/spot Placement Ratio:

53:4

Number of Placements per year:

339

Number of Emergency Placements:

70

Number of Planned Placements:

267

Average Length of Stay:

TBA

Average Package Cost per week:

£2,043 Per Week

Expected future Capacity Required:

N/A

TBA

  • All providers being required to become registered with Ofsted could cause some providers to exit the market.
  • Framework is due to be opened for the onboarding of new providers in the later part of 2023. This coincides with the deadline for Ofsted registration.
  • Increase in the number of Separated Migrant Children.
  • Cost of living crisis – providers are struggling to pay staff a real time living wage due to increased costs
  • Mortgage and interest rates increasing putting additional costs on placements.
  • Providing support and facilitating communications to support with the Ofsted registration process.
Last updated: 15/01/2024
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