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Liberty Protection Safeguards Update
March 4, 2022 | Altura Blog
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The Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) implementation is set to be delayed further and with no new time frame in place.
What are the Liberty Protection Safeguards?
The Liberty Protection Safeguards were due to be implemented in April 2022, following their introduction in the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019. The LPS is a new system designed to ‘provide protection for people aged 16 and above who are or who need to be deprived of their liberty in order to enable their care or treatment and lack the mental capacity to consent to their arrangements’.[1] The LPS will replace the current Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), but there will be an agreed period of time where the two systems will overlap during its implementation.
Why has the implementation been delayed?
Whilst the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill passed into law in 2019, the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the delay of the various consultation periods required in drafting the regulations and Code of Practice for LPS.
The Code of Practice is essential, as it will encompass topics such as:
- who will regulate the LPS scheme
- transitioning the LPS into the industry
- the required training for different roles within the sector
Now that the regulations and Code of Practice have been drafted and due to be published early 2022, they are required to undergo a public consultation for a period of 12 weeks, prior to any implementation taking place. In a letter from the Department of Health and Social Care, it has been raised that the planned implementation date of April 2022 is no longer feasible and at this stage, it would be considered premature to set a new implementation date before responses to the consultation have been considered.
What does this mean for Altura Learning members who need to train staff on LPS?
It’s essential that organisations take the time to review the key information freely available on the GOV.UK website to begin to understand:
- what is changing
- who the changes will impact
- how this will impact on the services you provide
Altura Learning will continue to continue to follow the progress of the consultation process and aim to provide members with learning materials in time for the Liberty Protection Safeguards implementation, once the date is known.
