Children locked in rooms as restrictions on liberty triple

CHILDREN in care are being locked in their bedrooms and stripped of their mobile phones, as official figures show that the use of Deprivation of Liberty orders has tripled in two years.

The orders are increasingly being used to detain children in homes when suitable accommodation cannot be found, Freedom of Information figures have revealed.

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (Dols) are part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and are intended to ensure that people in care and hospitals who cannot consent to their own care arrangements are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom.

However, FOI data obtained by BBC News from 91 of 170 local authorities in

England and Wales show that the num- ber of Deprivation of Liberty orders for children and young people rose from 43 in 2016-17 to 134 in 2018-19, the vast majority representing those in care.

Dols are often used for adults, such as elderly people with Alzheimer’s, but the figures show they are increasingly being used for children on safeguarding grounds.

They can cover restrictions from detention in a house to taking away a phone – and are commonly secured by a local authority from the High Court or Court of Protection.

Carolyne Willow, director of the charity Article 39, which campaigns for the rights of children in institutional settings, said it demonstrated “wilful neglect at the highest level”.

A Government spokesman said: “Supporting the most vulnerable children in the country is a priority.”