When a child’s welfare is at risk and their behaviour places them or others in danger, the courts may need to intervene in ways that significantly affect their freedom. One such intervention is a deprivation of liberty order. Yet, despite the seriousness of these orders, many parents and carers find themselves without access to legal representation.
At The Family Law Company, we believe this must change. As the legal landscape begins to shift with the proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, there is now a crucial opportunity to ensure families facing these difficult circumstances are given the support they need through automatic access to legal aid.
Our care lawyers are often faced with the situation that a child is beyond parental control and there are concerns regarding a child’s welfare. Sometimes, a child’s behaviour is such that it requires a deprivation of liberty order to be applied for.
Deprivation of liberty orders restrict an individual’s freedom in order to secure safety. According to CAFCASS data, there was a 462% increase in the number of children subject to deprivation of liberty orders in the three years to 2021.
Despite the stark impact that these orders can have on a child’s life, parents and carers of children who are facing deprivation of their liberty are not automatically entitled to legal aid. Instead, strict means and merits testing needs to be conducted to establish whether they can receive legal aid. Research has shown that 88.5% of parents and carers were not represented at deprivation of liberty hearings.
The Law Society members consider it vital that these barriers to legal aid are removed to enable parents/carers to have unrestricted access to legal advice. The ‘Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill’ was published in March 2025 and seeks to establish a statutory framework around deprivation of liberty orders and where children deprived of their liberty can reside.
This is an opportunity to ensure families are automatically entitled to legal aid in these circumstances. However, it remains to be seen whether the government will take advantage of this opportunity to make the changes that are so desperately needed.
Deprivation of liberty orders can be life-altering, not only for the child involved but for their entire family. Denying parents and carers legal representation in these complex cases risks undermining the very safeguards that the orders are meant to uphold. The new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill presents a vital chance to right this wrong by making legal aid more accessible. We urge the government to act decisively and remove the current barriers to justice. At The Family Law Company, we will continue to advocate for fair access to legal support and stand beside families navigating these challenging circumstances.
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