Deprivation of Liberty Order for a Child: A Parent's Guide

Part of: Child Protection Conference

A deprivation of liberty order lets a council keep a child somewhere staff watch them all the time and they are not free to leave. There are two main routes to it. The Family Court can make a secure accommodation order under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 for a place in an approved secure children’s home. When no such place is free, the High Court can authorise the restrictions instead, using its inherent jurisdiction. Which route applies changes who decides, how long the order lasts and when it comes back to court. This guide covers the law in England and Wales.

What is a deprivation of liberty order?

It is court authority for restrictions that would otherwise breach your child’s right to liberty under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In Cheshire West [2014] UKSC 19 the Supreme Court set an “acid test”: is the person under continuous supervision and control, and are they free to leave? For a child, the comparison is with other children of the same age. Picture a 14-year-old whom staff escort everywhere, behind locked doors, with their phone checked. That may well amount to a deprivation of liberty, even in a small home with kind staff.

Because the restrictions go that far, someone has to authorise them. A parent’s agreement is not enough for an older teenager, and a council needs the court’s authority too. That is why a judge must decide, and why you have a say.

What is a secure accommodation order?

A secure accommodation order is the Family Court’s authority, under section 25, to keep a child in accommodation that exists to restrict liberty. It is the statutory route. A council may not place or keep a child it looks after there unless the child meets one of two criteria:

• Absconding and harm. The child has a history of absconding, is likely to abscond from any other kind of accommodation, and, if they do, is likely to suffer significant harm.
• Injury. If kept anywhere else, the child is likely to injure themselves or other people.

The court’s job is narrow but strict. It must decide whether the child meets a criterion. If the child does, it must make the order and state the maximum period (s.25(3) and (4)). The court can also make an interim order if it adjourns the hearing. In addition, NHS bodies can apply under section 25 for a child they accommodate where no council looks after the child (reg 7 and FPR r.12.3).

Children section 25 does not cover

Section 25 itself covers secure accommodation in England or Scotland, so a secure placement in Wales needs advice on the Welsh rules. Some children are outside section 25 altogether. They include a child in detention under the Mental Health Act 1983. They also include a young person aged 16 or over living in accommodation under section 20(5) of the Children Act (reg 5). For a child under 13, a council needs the Secretary of State’s prior approval before placing them in secure accommodation in a community home (reg 4). Also, the child needs a lawyer in court. The only exception is where someone told the child they could apply for one and the child did not (s.25(6)).

When does the High Court make a deprivation of liberty order?

It steps in when no approved secure place is available. A council cannot then apply under section 25. Instead, with the court’s permission, it asks the High Court to authorise the restrictions under its inherent jurisdiction (FPR r.12.3). Giving the lead judgment in Re T, Lady Black said that the inherent jurisdiction “can, and will have to be, used to fill that gap” (para 141). She also called it a temporary solution, developed by the courts in extremis (para 142).

The placement may be a children’s home, a rented flat with staff, or somewhere with no registration at all. Sometimes there is absolutely no alternative, and the child or someone else is likely to come to grave harm. Re T accepted that the court may then authorise even a placement in an unregistered children’s home (para 145). In that case the order should require the council to tell Ofsted straight away, so that the home moves towards registration (para 172).

Unlike section 25, no regulation caps the length of these orders. Instead, the judge decides how long the order lasts and when it returns to court, so the review date is in the order itself. Wardship is a separate use of the same jurisdiction, explained in our guide to wardship of the court.

The national deprivation of liberty court, now the National DoL List

The national court opened at the Royal Courts of Justice on 4 July 2022. Since October 2023 it has run as the National DoL List under a revised listing protocol from the President of the Family Division. Every first application is still issued there, on form C66. A national list judge makes the first order and fixes the review date. If your child is also in care proceedings, the reviews are expected to go back to your local court. That way one judge can deal with both.

Which deprivation of liberty order is your child under?

How does deprivation of liberty work for 16 and 17 year olds?

Two things change at 16, and together they often make capacity decide which court is involved. First, a parent can no longer consent on the child’s behalf to arrangements that would amount to a deprivation of liberty. In Re D [2019] UKSC 42 a majority of the Supreme Court held that this was not within the scope of parental responsibility (para 49). Second, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 starts to apply. No one can use its powers for a child under 16 (s.2(5)), but from 16 the Court of Protection can decide for a young person who lacks capacity.

The President’s January 2025 practice guidance deals with cases moving from the National DoL List to the Court of Protection. In such a case the judge directs the applicant to make a COP1 application to the right regional hub, and the papers follow it there. That matters for planning towards 18, because the Court of Protection can carry on making decisions once your child is an adult.

What can you do as a parent?

At every hearing on a deprivation of liberty order you can take part, see the evidence and question each restriction. If your child is in care, these applications often sit alongside the plan in interim and final care order proceedings. The same specialists can advise on both.

1. Take part. You are a respondent on either route. For section 25 the rules name everyone with parental responsibility. For a High Court application they name the child’s parent or guardian (FPR r.12.3). You should be sent the application and can put your views to the judge.
2. Read the reports. In section 25 cases the court should, if practicable, give you copies of all written reports before the hearing (FPR r.12.30). Section 25 cases also count as specified proceedings, so the court will usually appoint a children’s guardian for your child (r.12.27).
3. Ask what the council tried. Section 25 asks whether your child is likely to abscond from any other kind of accommodation, or to injure themselves or others there. So what the council has already tried, and how it went, sits at the centre of the case.
4. Test each restriction. Locked doors, searches, phone checks and supervised family time are separate decisions. Ask the council to explain each one.
5. Diary the review. For section 25, the order states its maximum period. For a High Court order, the review date is in the order. Either way, bring evidence of what has changed since the last hearing.

The council’s own reviews under section 25

This applies if your child is held under section 25 in a community home. The council must, if practicable, tell you as soon as possible that it means to apply to court (reg 14). Three people, at least one from outside the council, must then review the placement within a month and at least every three months. Where practicable, they must take your wishes and feelings into account and tell you the outcome and the reasons (regs 15 and 16).

Preparing for a review: one parent’s experience

If the council’s involvement started with an investigation, our guide to section 47 enquiries explains that stage. If your child lives away from home with your agreement rather than under an order, you keep a right to remove them, and section 25 is subject to it (s.25(9) and s.20(8)). The right falls away once a child of 16 or over agrees to the accommodation (s.20(11)). Removing a child the council sees as at risk can also lead it to apply to court, so take advice first. Our guide to section 20 of the Children Act explains how that agreement works.

Is the law on secure accommodation changing?

Yes, but the change is not in force yet. Parliament has passed a fix for the gap Re T described. Section 13 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 amends section 25. The same criteria will then cover depriving a child of liberty in “relevant accommodation” in England, not only in secure children’s homes. Relevant accommodation means a place for the care and treatment of children that is capable of use to deprive them of liberty. However, legislation.gov.uk lists section 13 as prospective. It starts on a day the Secretary of State appoints by regulations, so until then the inherent jurisdiction route described above still applies.

Deprivation of liberty order: frequently asked questions

General information about the law in England and Wales, not advice on your circumstances.