Ben Troke (2024) A Practical Guide to the Law of Deprivation of Liberty Somerset: Law Brief Publishing
| Date | 29 January 2025 |
| Pages | 67-68 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-01-2025-098 |
| Published date | 29 January 2025 |
| Author | Margaret Flynn |
Book review
A Practical Guide to the Law of
Deprivation of Liberty
by Ben Troke
Law Brief Publishing,
Minehead,
Somerset,
496 p.
£59.99
Paperback: 978-1-913715-65-6
Review DOI
10.1108/JAP-01-2025-098
All the author’s proceedsare
donated to the Alzheimer’s
Society.
Book reviewerstypically claim that
their freebie is essentialreading for
policymakers,relevant professionals
and all civic-mindedfolk who are
engaging with the title’ssubject
matter. Take thatas read. Our task is a
gift if the title is clear.The book is one
of the latest additionsto the Law Brief
Publishing’sPractical Guide series [1].
Since I do not recallreading any legal
book that occasionallymade me laugh
in the opening chapters–including the
footnotes –it foundaplace in my
holiday luggage.
An alternative titlefor this book might
have been The MentalCapacity Act:
History, Language,Omissions, Woeful
and Potential Remedies.I kno w that’s
too long but itwill save you time as you
wonder whether to readit.
So, what are thequalities of this
496-page text by a self-confessed
nerd (see p. 121)? Ben Troke’scraft is
in explaining a complexsubject lightly.
For starters:
This is the legal framework that
protects us when other people,
however well intentioned, start
making decisions about where and
how we live, often through to the
end of our lives. I cannot think of
anything more fundamental to our
identity or our autonomy than that
[...]But we have managed to
develop an overly complex, and
poorly understood system that
leaves tens of thousands of people
without any meaningful safeguards,
deprived of their liberty unlawfully;
organisations exposed to potential
liabilities; and huge amounts of time
and money spent on a process that
too often appears to yield little real
benefit to those it is supposed to
protect.
Without undulylabouring the April
2023 decisionof the Department of
Health and SocialCare [...]todelay
the implementationof the Liberty
Protection Safeguardsbeyond the life
of this Parliament,hestates of these
safeguards:
The most important thing about the
LPS is whether they will ever be
implemented, at least in the current
form. If I had to put my mortgage on
it, I’d bet against it.
I’m guessing that Ben Troke’spartner
did not assist with the book’s
proofreading.
The book’s opening chapter
establishes the principaltheme of
Getting the Mental CapacityAct Right.
That is, not getting lost in the complex
articulationsof the law on Deprivation
of Liberty Safeguardsbut rather
ensuring the proper useof the MCA. I
began listing some memorableBen
Troke proposals:
䊏rename the MCA: “making this
decision act”;
䊏the role of DoLS is not to impose
or enable restrictions but to
recognise that where there are
restrictions, they warrant
independent scrutiny; and
䊏DoLS is a spotlight ,n ot a padlock.
Arguably the Conclusionsand Key
Points that round offeach chapter do a
similar job –as well as providing
DOI 10.1108/JAP-01-2025-098 VOL. 27 NO. 12025, pp. 67-68, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203 jTHE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION jPAGE 67
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