December 2023 chronology

This page is automatically generated: it will only be complete at the end of the month. All monthly updates are available here: Archive of monthly updates.

See December 2023 update for a thematic summary of these changes.

• 21/12/23
  (2151)
  : LPS criticism. Anselm Eldergill, 'LPS weaknesses' (LinkedIn, 13/12/23) —The proposed LPS scheme is described as having the following fundamental weaknesses (paraphrased): (1) it "bakes in" the illegality of DOLS and "seems designed to permit citizens to be deprived of their liberty for months on end without any legal authorisation in place"; (2) it permits the COP to detain people who are detainable under the MHA; (3) the mental disorder condition is not ECHR compliant; (4) arguably, DOLS also does not incorporate the second Winterwerp condition; (5) it is no simpler or less bureaucratic, in reality the same six requirements remain, and the procedures are labyrinthine; (6) the legal liability provisions leave practitioners dangerously exposed. (The second Winterwerp condition is that the mental disorder must be of a kind or degree warranting compulsory confinement.)

• 14/12/23
  (1621)
  : Case (Renewal and remote assessments). Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v SSHSC [2023] EWHC 3182 (Admin) — Remote assessment insufficient for renewal of s3, guardianship or CTO (no decision in relation to initial discharge onto CTO).

• 07/12/23
  (1657)
  : Mental capacity law newsletter. 39 Essex Chambers, 'Mental Capacity Report' (issue 136, December 2023) —"Highlights this month include: (1) In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: the least worst option as regards compulsory feeding, putting values properly into the mix and the need for a decision actually to be in contemplation before capacity is considered; (2) In the Property and Affairs Report: relief from forfeiture in a very sad case; (3) In the Practice and Procedure Report: counting the costs of delay, guidance on termination cases, and a consultation on increasing Court of Protection feeds; (4) In the Wider Context Report: forgetting to think and paying the price, the cost of getting it wrong as litigation friend, Wales potentially striking out alone on mental health reform, and a review of Arianna’s book on social care charging; (5) In the Scotland Report: reduction of a Will: incapacity and various vitiating factors, and an update on law reform progress."