Decision details

The Director of Children and Adult Services submitted a report (previously circulated) updating Members on the impact of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) on the Authority.

The submitted report outlined the background to the introduction of the DoLS, which had come into force in England and Wales on 1 April 2009, as amendments to the Mental Capacity Health Act 2007 and in response to a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, which found that, legally, adequate protection was not given to people who lacked mental capacity to consent to care or treatment and who required some restrictions on the liberty to keep them safe.

Reference was made to the continued demand on the authority in term of the high number of requests being received, however, the Assistant Director Adult Social Care, reported that additional resources had been provided to ensure that the Council met its statutory obligations and that the reliance on independent Best Interest Assessors had been reduced, with the Council employing its own Assessors and training existing staff.

Following a question by a Member, it was reported that Darlington had a good record of ensuring that its DoLS were in place to meet statutory requirements, however, there was currently a slight backlog.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and that a further report on any proposed changes to the DoLS scheme be submitted to this Committee.