Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

To date, the following updates have been applied to the statutory framework since commencement of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 on 6 April 2016. For ease of reference, they have been grouped largely with reference to the Parts of the Act.

 

 

Parts 2 and 6

 

• The well-being statement

 

Shortly after the Act came into force in April 2016, the Welsh Government issued a well-being statement for people who need care and support and carers who need support, as required under section 8.  This statement was laid before the National Assembly for Wales on 24 August 2016.

 

http://gov.wales/docs/dhss/publications/160831well-being-statementen.pdf

 

The statement, developed over a three year period in partnership with the sector and with people receiving care and support services, lists the high-level national outcomes that those in need of care and support should expect in order to achieve improved well-being.  It aims to build a common understanding of well-being across all agencies engaged in providing care and support, to ensure everyone is working together towards the same important outcomes for individuals.

 

• Regulations and statutory guidance in relation to Area Plans

 

Section 14A of the Act (as inserted by schedule 4 of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015) requires, that after undertaking a population needs assessment, local authorities and their health board partners prepare and publish a plan setting out the range and level of services they propose to provide, or arrange to be provided, in order to meet the needs identified.  It is intended that this will drive the strategic regional delivery of care and support, with this provision and the associated regulations complementing the population needs assessment requirements set out in section 14.

To support this, on 1 April 2017 The Care and Support (Area Planning) (Wales) Regulations 2017 and The Partnership Arrangements (Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2017 came into force. 

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2017/56/pdfs/wsi_20170056_mi.pdf

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2017/491/pdfs/wsi_20170491_mi.pdf

 

These make detailed provision about area plans (including when they are to be published; review and revisions; who should be provided with copies; citizen, private/third sector and public body engagement; and monitoring and evaluation of area plans) and incorporate additional functions for health boards in relation to area plans within existing regional partnership arrangements. 

 

On 31 March 2017 the Welsh Ministers, under section 161 of the Act, also published statutory guidance in relation to these area plans.

 

http://gov.wales/docs/dhss/publications/170404sguideen.pdf

 

The plans are due to be published, for the first time, in April this year. 

 

 

• Roles and responsibilities of local authorities and health boards in respect of Integrated Family Support Services

Amendments made through the abovementioned Partnership Arrangements (Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2017 also ensured the continuity of the roles and responsibilities of local authorities and health boards to secure Integrated Family Support (IFS) services, previously required by the Children and Families Measure (Wales) Measure 2010. These amendments ensure that IFS team functions apply to all relevant children and young people by including the necessary functions under Part 6 of Act. These amendments came into effect on 1 April 2017.  

 

 

Parts 3 and 4

 

• The Care Planning and Case Review (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2017

These Regulations amend The Review of Children’s Cases (Wales) Regulations 2007, The Care and Support (Care Planning) (Wales) Regulations 2015 and The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 to align the provision that they make for the planning and review of care and support received, under the Act and the Children Act 1989, by persons whose families receive support from an Integrated Family Support team.  These amendments came into effect on 23 July 2017 and address small, unintended anomalies between the operation of arrangements made under the 2014 Act and the Children Act 1989 to ensure consistency across the legislative framework and, practically, that no person is disadvantaged in the provision of support they should receive.

 

 

Parts 4 and 5

 

• Clarifying elements of the framework for charging and financial assessment, and delivering Taking Wales Forward commitments in respect of charging for care and support

The Care and Support (Choice of Accommodation, Charging and Financial Assessment) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2017, which came into effect on 10 April 2017, amend various Regulations made under Parts 4 and 5 of the Act. These amendments gave effect to Welsh Government commitments around retention of capital in residential care and disregarding the War Disablement Pension, as well as clarifying aspects of the statutory framework relevant to charging and financial assessment.

 

• An amendment was made to the Care and Support (Choice of Accommodation) (Wales) Regulations 2015 to make it clear that the local authority’s duty to provide choice of accommodation does not apply where a person’s need for the provision of accommodation is short term. A definition of “short term” is inserted as meaning a period not exceeding 8 weeks.

 

• Amendments were made to the Care and Support (Charging) (Wales) Regulations 2015 in order to:
• increase the maximum weekly charge for non-residential care and support, from £60 to £70.
• establish two different capital limits – one that applies to charging for residential care, increased from £23,000 to £30,000, and one that applies to charging for non-residential care which was maintained at £24,000.
• increase the weekly minimum income amount where a person is provided with accommodation in a care home from £26.50 to £27.50.
• make it clear that following a revised financial assessment, a further statement must be issued to the care recipient and the revised charge becomes payable (and may be backdated) to the date that the local authority determined the revised charge.

 

• Amendments were made to the Care and Support (Financial Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2015 so that a full disregard will apply to charging for residential and non-residential care and support in respect of sums received under the War Disablement Pension.

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2017/214/pdfs/wsi_20170214_mi.pdf

At this time, consequential revisions were also made to the Part 4 and 5 Code of Practice (Charging and Financial Assessment) which was laid before the National Assembly for Wales, before issuing in April 2017.

 

http://gov.wales/docs/dhss/publications/170410pt45en.pdf   

 

 

Part 7

 

• ‘Working Together to Safeguard People’ suite of statutory guidance

Since the Act came into force in April 2016, the Welsh Government has augmented the statutory framework by publishing four volumes of statutory guidance, under the ‘Working Together to Safeguard People’ banner. This guidance, developed with the sector, aims to ensure that local safeguarding partners are supported in a strong and effective framework for multi-agency co-operation.

 

Volume 1: Introduction and Overview provides statutory guidance regarding: adult protection and support orders (APSOs) issued under section 131 of the Act; the duties under sections 128 and 130 to report adults at risk and children at risk;   the duties to enquire under section 126 of the Act and section 47 of the Children Act 1989; and statutory guidance to Safeguarding Board partners, issued under section 139 of the Act.

 

http://gov.wales/docs/phhs/publications/160404part7guidevol1en.pdf

 

Volumes 2 and 3 provide guidance which sets out arrangements for multi-agency child and adult practice reviews in circumstances of a significant incident where abuse or neglect of a child or adult at risk is known or suspected.  The guidance is addressed to all Safeguarding Boards and their partner agencies. It sets in place a foundation for learning together by professionals from different agencies and, in those circumstances where more formal review is required when there are serious incidents resulting from abuse or neglect, there is a system of multi-agency concise and extended practice reviews. The outputs are expected to generate new learning which can support continuous improvement in inter-agency protection practice.

 

http://gov.wales/docs/dhss/publications/161111cpr-guidanceen.pdf

http://gov.wales/docs/dhss/publications/161123guidanceen.pdf

 

Volume 4: Adult Protection and Support Orders provides a single point of reference on APSOs for local authorities. It provides comprehensive information regarding the seeking, making and enforcement of an APSO.

 

http://gov.wales/docs/dhss/publications/160909safeguarden.pdf  

 

Volumes 5 and 6, statutory guidance on handling individual cases to protect children and adults at risk, were consulted upon in spring 2017 and a summary of outcomes was published in August. Final arrangements are now being made so that these volumes can be published, jointly with the Home Office, in spring 2018.

 

https://consultations.gov.wales/sites/default/files/consultation_doc_files/170808summaryen.pdf 

 

 

Part 8

 

• Annual reports on the exercise of local authorities’ social services functions

Section 144A of the Act (as inserted by section 56 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016) requires local authorities in Wales to prepare and publish an annual report about the exercise of the authority’s social services functions. 

 

The Local Authority Social Services Annual Reports (Prescribed Forms) (Wales) Regulations 2017 prescribe the form of the annual report and the schedule describes the headings under which the information which is required to be included in the annual report must be set out.

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2017/274/pdfs/wsi_20170274_mi.pdf

 

These regulations came into force on 4 September 2017.

                                                                                                       

 

Parts 9

 

• Providing more flexibility in relation to pooled budgets

The abovementioned Partnership Arrangements (Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2017 introduced regulation 19(1A) to The Partnership Arrangements (Wales) Regulations 2015, with effect from 1 April 2017. This replaced a requirement for local authorities and health boards to establish pooled funds with a requirement to consider whether it would be appropriate to do so whenever they do things jointly in response to the population assessment.