The Children’s Homes (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Children’s Homes (Wales) Regulations 2002.

The amendments make provision for the giving of notifications in the event of a death of a child accommodated in a secure children’s home. In particular, the registered person is required to notify the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales (“the PPO”) if any child accommodated in a secure children’s home dies.

The amendments also require the registered person of a secure children’s home to allow the PPO to investigate the death by:

a)

granting the PPO access to the premises of the home and the home’s documents and records;

b)

allowing the PPO to take away copies of any of the home’s documents and records from the premises provided that the PPO has secure arrangements for doing so; and

c)

allowing the PPO (with consent) to interview in private any children, parents or relatives, or persons working in the home.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.