Latest Ministry of Justice data show 13% fall in deprivation of liberty applications and orders made under Mental Capacity Act 2005

According to the Family Court Statistics Quarterly for April to June 2026, there were 1,864 applications under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 relating to deprivation of liberty, with 5,507 orders made.

Both were down 13% on the equivalent quarter in 2025.

On 2 June in 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 [2026] UKSC 16, the Supreme Court took the unusual step of overruling its 2014 decision in Cheshire West, which it concluded had been wrong in principle.

Giving the judgment of the Supreme Court, Lord Sales and Lady Simler concluded that in setting out the acid test the majority decision in Cheshire West went beyond the Strasbourg jurisprudence and departed from the long-standing multifactorial approach to determining when a person is deprived of liberty.

Last month, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) emphasised the continued need for “careful, person-centred assessment” where decisions affect people’s liberty and autonomy, following the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Meanwhile, the data showed the average time for a care or supervision case to reach disposal was 37 weeks in April to June 2026, down 1 week compared to the same quarter in 2025.

According to the data, 36% of cases were disposed of within 26 weeks - similar to the same period in 2025.

Lottie Winson