Liberty Protection Safeguards

What are Liberty Protection Safeguards?

Last updated: July 2026

The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 paved the way for the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to be replaced with a brand new scheme called the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS).

What is deprivation of liberty?

The definition of deprivation of liberty is based on past judgements made by the European Court of Human Rights. It is directly linked to Article 5 of the European Convention for Human Rights, which enshrines the person’s right to liberty, unless certain criteria are met.It has been interpreted in the UK most recently by the Supreme Court in 2014; the ‘Cheshire West’ judgement, which set the following threshold for people to be assessed:

  • The person is unable to make a decision about the care they receive or where they live and is unable to consent to the arrangements in place for their care, because of a ‘Mental Disorder’.
  • The person is under ‘continuous supervision and control’.
  • The person is ‘not free to leave’ (permanently).

The Liberty Protection Safeguards was conceived as a way of rationalising the overburdened system following the Supreme Court “Acid Test” ruling of 2014, which led to a massive increase in the number of people needing a deprivation of liberty authorisation. The Supreme Court “AGNI” ruling of June 2026 seems likely to lead to a massive decrease in that number. So it remains to be seen whether the LPS will still be brought in. It could be argued that the LPS are a solution to a problem that no longer exists. As of today the Government has made no official announcement the LPS since the AGNI ruling … of course we will post it here if and when they do.

Here’s a timeline of the past 16 years:

  • 2009: DoLS introduced in England and Wales
  • 2014: House of Lords committee says the DoLS is “bad legislation” and should be replaced
  • 2014: Supreme Court gives “Acid Test” definition of deprivation of liberty, which massively increases the number of people who should be covered, and leads to huge backlogs in approving DoLS
  • 2017: Tim Spencer-Lane of the Law Commission leads a review of DoLS, which recommends it can’t be improved and should be replaced
  • 2017-19: In partnership with St Thomas Training, Tim Spencer-Lane runs a series of LPS briefing sessions in various locations across England and Wales. Around 2,000 health & social care professionals attend
  • 2019: Parliament passes the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act to bring in the LPS
  • 2019-20: St Thomas Training runs dozens of LPS training sessions for local authorities and NHS bodies
  • 2020-24: Conservative Government repeatedly postpones LPS implementation date
  • 2024-25: Labour Government declines to make a concrete decision about LPS
  • October 2025: Department of Health & Social Care announces it has decided to implement LPS at some unspecified point in future

The Law Commission commented that ‘the rights of people who are deprived of liberty and those supporting them are difficult to discern’.

The UK Government passed the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019, which extends to England and Wales, to replace DoLS with LPS. Some things will stay the same, some elements are reinforced, and some will change.