on is an area of intense public, political and judicial attention. The prevalence of complex mental health concerns has increased and yet the number of inpatient child mental health beds has fallen by a fifth since 2017 and 16 secure children’s homes have closed since 2002 (Nagalro, 2024). The severe shortage of places in secure children’s homes leaves around 50 children waiting for such placements on any given day (Ofsted, 2024a). Risk around placement costs and availability of placements has been really stark, which leads to risk… you have to take the placements you can get, which is not how any of us would want to be practising… the knock-on effect of big cost pressures, councils are having to make decisions about what not to do because of that and that brings its own level of risks as well. (DCS, Unitary, Yorkshire and Humber Region) 68 The pressures associated with providing appropriate protection, care and therapeutic support to meet the needs of children and young people with the most complex needs came through strongly in SP9 survey responses and interviews. Often this is being done at the point of crisis and DCSs discussed tensions and strained relationships with health colleagues in relation to this sufficiency crisis as well as strong levels of challenge from judges asked to authorise emergency placements and restrictive support packages under a deprivation of liberty (DoL) order. 5.5 Deprivation of liberty (DoL) orders In the face of the ‘dangerous inadequacy’ (T (A child) v Caerphilly County Borough Council [2021] UKSC 35) of suitable secure accommodation for children and young people with the most complex needs in particular, local authority applications to the High Court to exercise its inherent jurisdiction in order to authorise the deprivation of a chil