42.Part 2 of the Act (sections 10 to 18) makes provisions that reform the family justice system. All of the sections relate to family law and proceedings with one exception set out in the text below. Family law and proceedings are a non-devolved matter and so these provisions also apply to Wales.
43.Section 15 amends section 31A of the Children Act 1989 which relates to care orders and care planning. Care planning is an area where the National Assembly for Wales has legislative competence. The amendments to section 31A(1) confer a new power on Welsh Ministers to allow them to prescribe by regulations the time within which a care plan (which a local authority in Wales is responsible for preparing) must be prepared by the local authority.
44.In addition, section 12 introduces a “child arrangements order” which has a consequential impact on the power of Welsh Ministers to make regulations. The power that is affected is not one that falls within an area of Assembly legislative competence but the changes affect an area of Welsh Ministers’ executive competence.