In July 2018, the government published a Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill which will see DoLS replaced by the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS). This passed into law in May 2019. Under LPS, there will be a streamlined process to authorise deprivations of liberty. Read more here: Liberty Protection Safeguards.

The LPS establishes a process for authorising arrangements enabling care or treatment which give rise to a deprivation of liberty within the meaning of Article 5(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), where the person lacks capacity to consent to the arrangements. It also provides for safeguards to be delivered to people subject to the scheme.

Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) was due to replace the current DOLS system from October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government announced a revised date of 1 April 2022.

Read the full Implementation of Liberty Protection Safeguards statement

The LPS Code of Practice and regulation is yet to be published. In the meantime, we are still planning how best to support these changes and will update this page once we know more.

Resources

Liberty Protection Safeguards Consultation we value your view.

The government is making changes to the rule about making your own decisions. They are updating the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice and considering a new system of safeguards- the Liberty Protection Safeguards. The links below are to the documents to help you share your thoughts both in full and in easy read.

Consultation guidance

Scope

This consultation sets out the proposed updates to the MCA Code of Practice and introduces the LPS secondary legislation. It also covers workforce guidance related to the implementation of the LPS. This is a joint consultation published by DHSC and MoJ.

The LPS will apply to 16 and 17 year olds, and the Department for Education (DfE) has been involved in the development of this new system. All 3 departments will be working together to successfully implement the LPS.

The Code applies in both England and Wales. They are asking for all to respond to the sections of the consultation relating to the Code. To make the contents of the Code easier to access for all audiences, they have produced 2 easy read summary booklets. One booklet is an easy read summary of the wider MCA guidance in the Code which is not directly relevant to the LPS. The other booklet is an easy read summary of the guidance in the Code which is specifically relevant to the LPS. These easy read summary booklets are based on the chapter summaries in the full Code.

Easy read summary booklet of the wider MCA guidance in the Code.

Easy read summary booklet of the LPS guidance in the Code.

To make the consultation easier to access for all audiences, they have produced an easy read consultation document.

This is a condensed version of this consultation document, which focuses on people’s personal experiences rather than very specific policy questions. Having a different set of broader questions in the easy read consultation document will help people who have or may have experience of the Mental Capacity Act to tell us about their personal experiences and views. This feedback will help us to improve the Code and other guidance and ensure that it reflects real-life scenarios.

People who wish to respond to the easy read consultation questions can draw on the easy read summary booklets, or any of the other documents published, as points of reference. Anyone and everyone who wants to respond to this consultation is free to respond to any question or questions, from either consultation document. We would like them to engage with the consultation in whatever way works best for them.

It is important to capture your views, and those of parents and care-givers. Please find the links below to help us understand your thoughts and shape services to meet your needs.

Share your thoughts and complete the survey - click here

Duration

This consultation will run for 16 weeks from 17 March to 7 July 2022.

Enquiries

For any enquiries about responding to the consultation please contact lps.cop@dhsc.gov.uk.