ARC England’s response to the Supreme Court Deprivation of Liberty ruling, June 2026
There will be understandable concern amongst social care providers and the people they support after the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a ‘Deprivation of Liberty’. The ruling may have a significant impact on many people with learning disabilities and care services, dependent on its practical interpretation and government guidance.
The judgement essentially does away, with immediate effect, with the ‘Acid Test’ that was framed by the Cheshire West ruling in 2014, in favour of a more complex, multi-factorial interpretation of a ‘deprivation of liberty’, which will include an interplay of objective and subjective assessments.
We would hope and expect that government advice and guidance will soon follow. In the meantime the reaction by supervisory bodies cannot be anticipated.
ARC England’s advice is it is too early to be specific about the impact of this on our members and the individuals they support.
New guidance will likely be forthcoming from the government at some point.
In the meantime:
- The judgement applies IMMEDIATELY (no grace period) so it will be interesting to see how LAs and other supervisory bodies react in lieu of any guidance.
- Members should be careful not to over-react; guidance will be forthcoming, if not directly from government then from supervisory bodies. Let’s see what they have to say. Our MCA/DoLS training workshops will be covering the latest guidance and its implementation as it is released. New dates for MCA/DoLS For Managers training dates available 16/17 July 2026.
- Our members may be interested in the statement released by Mencap, Mind and the NAS.
- Our members should stay up to date: Read Essex 39 Chambers’ commentary in their Mental Capacity Resource Centre (more commentary in their June 2026 newsletter) and St Thomas Training have a webinar on June 26.
- Read the article in Community Care: The Supreme Court’s reversal of the Cheshire West judgment explainedÂ
MCA/DoLS Training – new dates available
Our scheduled June MCA/DoLS training  will go ahead, with new dates for MCA/DoLS For Managers training available 16/17 July as the first workshops are fully booked, and delegates will be updated with the latest significant information as it becomes available. We look forward to discussing this with our members (and non-members from the wider learning disability support community) at that training and hearing their interpretations and concerns.
When we have clarity, we are likely to host a series of webinars to update our members on what they need to know and offer an opportunity to debate the issues. You can register your interest in these webinars by emailing bookings@arcuk.org.uk.
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