Cross-Border Placements (Effect of Deprivation of Liberty Orders) (Scotland) Regulations 2022: practice guidance, notice and undertaking template
This practice guidance is out of date and should not be used. It has been replaced by the Cross-border Placement of Children (Requirements, Effect, and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2026.
5. Granting of a DOL order and recognition in Scots law
A DOL order granted by the High Court in England or Wales or the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland in relation to a placement in Scotland will have effect as if it were a Compulsory Supervision Order, subject to the relevant conditions in the Regulations being met.
In particular, for a new or continued DOL order to be recognised as if it were a CSO, a notice and undertaking must be given in writing by the placing local authority to specified persons in Scotland (see regulations 7-10).
The Placement Notice and Undertaking2 (see section 6 for further detail and Annex A for the template) provides key information to relevant Scottish authorities and agencies. The Placement Notice and Undertaking must be completed ahead of the child being moved to Scotland, in order for the DOL order to be legally recognised in Scotland. This lawful authority is an essential requirement for deprivation of liberty to be compliant with Article 5 of the ECHR.
Placing authorities should share any appropriate additional information about the child, ahead of the child being moved to Scotland, with the relevant Scottish local authority to ensure comprehensive care planning and support for the child or young person being placed in Scotland.
2 The only scenario in which the placing authority is not required to complete the Placement Notice and Undertaking Template before a child is placed in Scotland is if a DOL order is already recognised and enforceable in Scotland on the date the Regulations come into force (i.e. by virtue of a Court of Session interlocutor). The Regulations contain a transitional provision in regulation 4, which provides that such a DOL order will be treated as if it were a CSO until the earlier of the following occurs: the DOL order ceasing to have effect in the jurisdiction of the court which made it; the end of the period during which the DOL order is recognised and enforceable in Scotland by virtue of the Court of Session interlocutor; or regulation 5(1) applying in relation to the DOL order. Regulation 5(1) allows for the continued recognition of a DOL order previously recognised under regulation 4, as long as it is reviewed and continued in effect by the relevant court before it expires and regulation 7 (requiring the giving of a notification and undertaking) is complied with by the placing authority.