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

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make amendments to three sets of Regulations which make provision about the planning and review of the provision of care and support for persons under the Children Act 1989 and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”).

The amendments make provision about the way that local authorities and other responsible authorities must review the cases of persons who are part of a family which is receiving support from an integrated family support team (“IFS team”).

Sections 166 to 169 of the 2014 Act make provision for partnership arrangements between each local health board and the local authorities that fall within the geographic footprint of each health board to establish a partnership body to participate in arrangements for the carrying out of specified health and social services functions. IFS teams are established as part of those arrangements to provide support to families who are referred to them, in accordance with regulations 16 and 17 of the Partnership Arrangements (Wales) Regulations 2015, (which are made under sections 166 to 168 of the 2014 Act).

Regulation 2 makes amendments to the Review of Children’s Cases (Wales) Regulations 2007 and inserts a new Schedule 5 into those Regulations to make provision about the additional considerations that responsible authorities under those Regulations must have regard when reviewing the case of a child whose family is receiving support from an IFS team.

Regulation 3 makes amendments to the Care and Support (Care Planning) (Wales) Regulations 2015 and inserts a Schedule to make provision about the considerations that a local authority must have regard when reviewing a person’s care and support plan or support plan when the person is part of a family which is receiving support from an IFS team.

Regulation 4 makes amendments to the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 (“the 2015 Regulations”) and inserts new provision within Schedule 8 to the 2015 Regulations (considerations to which the responsible authority must have regard when reviewing C’s case) to add additional considerations to which an authority must have regard when reviewing the case of a child whose family is receiving support from an IFS team.

Regulation 4(4) also corrects an error in regulation 57 of the 2015 Regulations.

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.