Deprivation of liberty applications in the Court of Protection up 27% on same time last year28/9/2018
There were 1,166 applications relating to deprivation of liberty in April to June 2018, up 27% on the equivalent quarter in 2017 according to the latest Family Court Statistics bulletin published on 27th September.
This rise is in comparison with a 19% drop in the number of deprivation of liberty orders made over the same period. Other insights arising from the latest figures are that:
The latest Family Court statistics bulletin shows that the Court of Protection’s workload shows no signs of diminishing.
For example, 38,945 orders were made under the MCA last year an increase of nearly 50% on 2016. However, the report authors ascribe some of that increase to a “clearance of outstanding cases during the first quarter of 2017, and volumes have increased generally due to improved recording of orders made by regional courts." Over a third (40%) of the orders made related to the appointment of a deputy for property and affairs The number of LPAs received also rose, with 180,210 received in the last quarter of the year up 18% on the equivalent quarter in 2016. Over the entire year, the increase was 28%, though there has been a drop in the two most recent quarters. There were 2,552 Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) in October to December 2017, down 5% on the same quarter in 2016. Annually, there was also a decrease of 7% in 2017 compared to 2016, continuing the long-term downward trend. The table below illustrates this point. The full report can be found on the GOV.UK website. The numbers of applications for DoLs and LPAs have continued to rise sharply according to the latest court statistics from the Ministry of Justice.
Between April and June 2017, 919 applications relating to deprivation of liberty were made, that's an increase of 24% on the same period in 2016. The number of orders made almost doubled, from 375 to 689 respectively. (see also the graph below) The figures also show that applications for LPAs continued their upward trend with 194,012 applications received, up 30%. Applications for Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) though declined, with 2,953 applications received, down 9%. MCA applications remained steady with 7,623 applications (compared with 7,616 applications in 2016) but the authors note that the number of orders made increased by over 50% (10,205) driven, they say, by "a clearance of outstanding cases and an increase in the number of cases being dealt with by regional courts." Further detail is in the Family Court statistics report available on the MoJ website. The Office of the Public Guardian has published new guidance concerning travel costs that can be claimed by deputies.
It follows amendments to practice direction B to part 19 of the Court of Protection Rules, made in April 2017, that introduced a new provision allowing public authorities and other third sector deputies to claim a fixed amount for travel costs (paragraph 21). The Guidance sets out the deputies duties, what travel costs might be covered and how to calculate them. It also makes clear that it is a general guide only, setting out their interpretation of what counts as a reasonable claim: the Court of Protection is the ultimate arbiter. You can read the Guidance here The latest Family Court Statistics Bulletin published by the MoJ shows that the number DoLS applications doubled again in 2016. There were 3,143 applications in that year compared with 1,497 in 2015. Out of that number 1,366 orders were made.
The Bulletin also shows that the number of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) received increased to 590,593 in 2016, up 80,000 on 2015. However the number of Deputyships appointed remained fairly stable, with 12,436 appointments in 2016. You can read more in Section 10 of the Bulletin available here. |
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