Collection background

Ownership of the DoLS annual collection was transferred to the NHS Digital Adult Social Care team in 2013-14, the same year the collection developed into a case level rather than an aggregate return of data.

The data template and guidance relating to the collection have been subtly enhanced each year, incorporating feedback from local authority colleagues and other key stakeholders. The most recent changes are documented in the updates for 2023-24.  

MCA DoLS came into force on 1 April 2009. They were a response to a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and they now provide a framework for the lawful deprivation of liberty of those people who lack capacity to consent to arrangements made for their care or treatment. The legislation only covers individuals who are in hospitals or care homes and can only be authorised when it is assessed to be in the best interests of the individual concerned, to protect them from harm. Where a deprivation of liberty is required in a person’s own home or in supported living, an application is needed to the Court of Protection for authorisation. The DoLS annual data collection is concerned only with those applications for individuals residing in care homes and hospitals. Councils are encouraged to keep separate records of applications made to the Court of Protection as this information may be required by the Ministry of Justice.

Under the DoLS legislation, councils (Supervisory Bodies) have statutory responsibility for operating and overseeing the MCA DoLS, whilst hospitals and care homes (Managing Authorities) have responsibility for applying to the relevant Supervisory Body for a DoLS authorisation.

The legislation includes a statutory requirement for all Managing Authorities and Supervisory Bodies to keep clear and comprehensive records for every person deprived of their liberty. This includes records of applications for authorisations, details of the assessment process, information about the relevant person’s representative and the documentation related to termination of an authorisation.

There are 6 criteria that need to be assessed as part of a DoLS application: age, mental capacity, mental health, no refusals, eligibility and best interests. Two specially qualified professionals are necessary to carry out the assessments. One must be a doctor and the other must either be an Approved Mental Health Professional, a nurse, a social worker, an occupational therapist or a chartered psychologist; they must all have had specific training for this role. At least one of them must be qualified to undertake an assessment under the Mental Health Act and the assessors must have no conflict of interest within the Supervisory Body. If the Supervisory Body and Managing Authority are the same organisation, as in the case of where the local authority owns and runs the care home where the person lives, then the best interests assessor must not work for that organisation.

A standard authorisation cannot be renewed, irrespective of how long it is given for, and can only be ended prior to the date specified at the approval stage following a review by the Supervisory Body. If a Managing Authority considers it will need a further authorisation following the end of an existing one, it must apply to the Supervisory Body for a new one. If it considers at any time during the authorisation period that the authorisation is no longer required (for example the person has regained capacity, died, or moved away from the place where the authorisation is in existence), they must request a review from the Supervisory Body in order that the authorisation can be formally ended.

Further details can be found in the DoLS Code of Practice

The latest version of the DoLS forms used by Supervising Bodies and Managing Authorities are available. 

We advise that you use the forms, which have been sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS). Information in the forms is the suggested minimum requirement. Further information and links to the new forms and guidance are also provided. 

Updates have been made as follows:

There are no changes planned for the DoLS 2023-24 template, however any changes will be communicated via the September letter.

Any colleagues requiring further information or support are invited to contact NHS England using the below details. Any comments on this guidance and the accompanying data template would be welcomed.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 0300 303 5678. 

All data should be entered as accurate at the end of 31 March 2024; any activity occurring on a case after this date will be captured in the 2024-25 data collection.

Each DoLS authorisation request should be input as a separate row in the data template, using a series of alphanumeric codes to represent the details of that request. Each column has a specific list of codes which can be entered; these are defined in the table below.

All dates should be entered in a valid Microsoft date format. Any date fields that contain text strings or other numeric values will be rejected by our data loading process.

The DoLS validation tool is not able to identify dates recorded in the incorrect format, however users are able to identify these occurrences themselves prior to submission by clicking on the filter button (downward facing arrow icon) in row 8 of any column to view the data that have been inserted. 

Once selected, the following window should appear. In this example, the highlighted section identifies those records containing a valid date format. The two examples below the highlighted section do not appear in the same year / month / date hierarchy as they are not in a valid date format and would therefore not be loaded. Filtering also helps identify records with valid date formats where there may have been an input error (for example the ‘2118’ example below). 

By unticking the valid records, only the data for those records with invalid date formats will be visible, enabling them to be corrected prior to submission.