DOLs figures underline crisis in secure children’s homes places

New figures published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) show that between January and March 2024 there were over five times the number of Deprivation of Liberty applications - authorising the deprivation of a child’s liberty in an unregulated secure placement - compared to secure accommodation applications.

According to the MoJ’s Quarterly Statistics, published last week, there were 291 applications for Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) orders in the high court between January and March 2024 - up from 289 in the previous quarter.

However, over the same period (January – March), there were only 49 applications for secure accommodation orders to place children in a secure children’s home - highlighting the current crisis in secure children’s homes places.

The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (NFJO) warned there is “severe shortage” of places in secure children’s homes, with around 50 children waiting for a place on any given day.

According to research by Ofsted, more than 90% of local authorities “frequently” struggle to find homes for children with complex needs.

The Department for Education (DfE) noted that the practice of placing children under the age of 16 in unregulated accommodation has been unlawful since 9 September 2021.

It added that the Government is investing £259 million “to maintain capacity and expand provision in both secure and open children’s homes”.

The MoJ began collecting and publishing data about DoL applications under the inherent jurisdiction in July 2023. Prior to this, children subject to DoL applications did not appear in national administrative data.

Lottie Winson