Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

Community Deprivation of Liberty (CDOL)

CDOL only applies to people aged 16 or above who are living in their own home, a family home, supported living or shared lives arrangements. Some people need significant care and support in their daily lives, especially those who may lack the mental capacity to make decisions about their care or treatment. This can include people with dementia, learning disabilities, brain injuries, or mental health conditions.

The law requires that care arrangement put in place that restrict a person’s freedom are carefully assessed and legally authorised to protect the person’s human rights- this is done through the Court of Protection.

On the 2nd of June 2026 there was a significant Supreme Court decision in relation to Deprivation of Liberty: A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland of a devolution issue under paragraph 34 of Schedule 10 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

This judgement changes the threshold used to determine if a person's care arrangements constitute a deprivation of liberty. 

Meaning that:

• The Cheshire West element of deprivation of liberty is no longer used, rather a multi-factorial assessment needs to be applied and
• A person without the mental capacity to make decisions about their residence and care arrangements can still give subjective consent (‘valid consent’) to what would otherwise be a deprivation of liberty, meaning they would not be seen as being deprived of their liberty.

Three questions that needs answering when considering whether a person is deprived of their liberty:

1. The ‘objective element’ - is the person confined to a particular restricted space for a material period of time; if yes,
2. The ‘subjective element’- is there ‘valid consent’ to that confinement
3. Imputability to the state: the state is responsible, either directly or indirectly, for that confinement.’

Tell us if you think someone is deprived of their liberty

If you are a family member, friend or care provider and believe that someone you support in a community setting may be deprived of their liberty, please let us know.

You can do this by:

• speaking directly to the person’s allocated social worker, if known
• contacting the Adult Social Care team by phone or email

When contacting us, please provide as much information as possible about:

• the person’s care arrangements
• whether the person is able to provide ‘valid consent’ to the care arrangements. 
• why you believe they may be deprived of their liberty

We will review the situation and take appropriate steps to ensure the person’s rights are protected.

Last updated 13 August 2026