National deprivation of liberty court: data trends

The data reported in this briefing relates to all applications issued by the national deprivation of liberty court. It covers information included on the C66 application form – the form used to apply for an order under the high court inherent jurisdiction in relation to children. Data is extracted and recorded by court staff and analysed by Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. In July 2022 the President of the Family Division launched the national deprivation of liberty court. Based at the Royal Courts of Justice, it deals with all new applications seeking authorisation to deprive children of their liberty under the inherent jurisdiction and will run for a 12-month pilot phase initially. The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory was invited to collect and publish data on these applications. This monthly briefing highlights high-level data trends. n the first two months of the national deprivation of liberty court, there were 237 applications – 101 in July and 136 in August. The applications were made by 96 different local authorities and 5 hospital or mental health trusts.