Delays and the DoLS backlog
Most DoLS applications are not completed within the target time. In 2024-25, 21.1% of standard applications were completed within the 21-day statutory timeframe, up from 18.6% the year before, while the average application took 126 days from start to finish, down from 144 days in 2023-24 (gov.uk, DoLS England 2024-25, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025). A large backlog remains.
The backlog in numbers. Councils in England completed 353,935 applications in 2024-25, up 9.3% on the year before, but 118,850 applications were still not completed at 31 March 2025 (
gov.uk, DoLS England 2024-25, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025). Because completions have risen while a substantial number remain outstanding, waiting times have eased slightly but many people are still authorised under an urgent or interim arrangement while their full assessment is pending.
How often are DoLS applications refused?
Refusals are uncommon. In 2024-25, 3,975 completed and fully assessed applications were not granted, which was 2.5% of all completed, fully assessed applications (gov.uk, DoLS England 2024-25, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025). An application can be declined where the assessors conclude the qualifying requirements are not met, for example that the arrangements do not in fact amount to a deprivation of liberty, or that a less restrictive option is available.
What the numbers mean
Read together, the figures point to a system handling record demand while carrying a large unfinished caseload. In 2024-25, England recorded 364,900 applications received against 353,935 completed and 118,850 still open at year end (gov.uk, DoLS England 2024-25, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025).
In our reading, three patterns stand out, and each should be treated as general observation rather than a prediction. First, demand has grown substantially since 2015-16, when 195,840 applications were received, which is often connected to an ageing population and greater awareness of when the safeguards apply. Second, the fact that only around one in five standard applications is completed within the 21-day target suggests capacity has not kept pace with demand, though the slight fall in average completion time to 126 days may indicate some easing. Third, with refusals at 2.5%, the assessment process very rarely overturns an application once it is fully considered, which tends to place the weight of the system on timeliness rather than outcome. Source: gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change. None of this is advice about any individual case, and the picture can change as new annual data is published.
The headline story in the data is not refusal but delay: a rising number of applications, a persistent backlog, and most cases taking far longer than the statutory target.
DoLS in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
These statistics cover England only. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards apply in both England and Wales under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, but Wales collects and publishes its data separately, so the 364,900 applications reported for 2024-25 relate to England alone (gov.uk, DoLS England 2024-25, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025). Scotland does not use DoLS at all; it has its own framework under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. Northern Ireland operates a separate regime under the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. Comparisons across the UK nations are therefore not like for like.
Where DoLS fits with estate planning
DoLS apply once a person already lacks capacity and is in a care home or hospital, so by the time they are used the individual can no longer choose who speaks for them. In 2024-25 there were 364,900 DoLS applications in England, a scale that shows how many families reach that point each year (gov.uk, DoLS England 2024-25, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025). Planning ahead is one way some people try to keep more say over what happens.
Many people choose to put a health and welfare lasting power of attorney in place while they still have capacity, so that trusted people can be involved in decisions about care and treatment if capacity is later lost. Because loss of capacity often coincides with a move into residential care, some families also look at how the care funding system works. Our guide to Care Home Fees explains the means test, and our data piece on dementia in the UK sets out how many people are affected by the most common driver of lost capacity. It is worth being aware that deliberately giving away assets to reduce a care contribution can be challenged by a local authority under the deprivation of assets rules, so this is generally approached as planning for, and limiting the impact of, care fees rather than avoiding them. Where the stakes are high, it can be worth discussing with a qualified professional, and our estate planning guide shows how these documents fit together.
Sources and methodology
Every statistic on this page comes from official statistics for England published by the Department of Health and Social Care. The figures count applications, not individuals, and a single person may be the subject of more than one application. Some totals are described by the publisher as estimates where councils submitted incomplete returns.
- Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, England, 2024 to 2025 (statistical commentary), Department of Health and Social Care, reference period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, published 26 March 2026. Source of the figures for applications received (364,900), completed (353,935), not completed at year end (118,850), completed within 21 days (21.1%, 31,670), average completion time (126 days), applications not granted (2.5%, 3,975), and the 2015-16 comparison (195,840). View on gov.uk.
- Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, England, 2024 to 2025 (release page and data tables), Department of Health and Social Care. View on gov.uk.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005, the legislation under which DoLS operate in England and Wales. View on legislation.gov.uk.
