The Integrated Family Support Teams (Family Support Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2010

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These regulations set out the functions of a local authority and the functions of a Local Health Board which are “family support functions” for the purposes of section 58 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 (“the Measure”). Section 57 of the Measure requires local authorities to establish one or more integrated family support (“IFS”) teams in their area and requires a Local Health Board to participate in their establishment. The IFS teams are not separate legal entities but bring together the local authority and the Local Health Board to perform together certain health and social care functions to address the issues of the families whose cases can be referred to it.

Section 58(2) of the Measure allows the Welsh Ministers to prescribe certain of a local authority’s social services functions and certain functions of a Local Health Board or NHS Trust as “family support functions”. A local authority, with the consent of the participating Local Health Board, must decide which of its own and the Local Health Board “family support functions” to assign to the IFS team.

Subsections (5) to (8) of section 58 set out the particular types of cases which a local authority may refer to an IFS team. The statutory functions identified apply more widely than the types of case in question might require so the tables in the Schedule to these Regulations include text narrowing the focus to the relevant area.

Section 58(12) of the Measure provides that functions prescribed as “family support functions” and which are assigned to an IFS team will continue to be exercised by the local authority and a local health board outside the team as well as being performed within the team.