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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At the time of setting the 2026/27 budget the medium range scenario for future years indicates a gap between the Council’s expected funding streams and the Council’s expenditure.

After delivering 100% of all existing planned savings, the gap is expected to be £108m in 2027/28 rising to £278m by 2029/30.

There are no assumptions made around future levels of council tax in arriving at the gap from 2027/28 onward.

 

The figures above are net of income.

There will be a continued focus on commercialism where possible, effective contract management and working with partners to secure value for money in delivering our strategic aims and priorities. We will be redesigning services where appropriate to ensure they remain modern and fit for purpose.

 

Last updated: 01/04/2026