The Integrated Family Support Teams (Composition of Teams and Board Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2012

Welsh Statutory Instruments

2012 No. 202 (W.33)

SOCIAL CARE, WALES

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, WALES

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS, WALES

The Integrated Family Support Teams (Composition of Teams and Board Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2012

Made

30 January 2012

Laid before the National Assembly for Wales

31 January 2012

Coming into force

28 February 2012

The Welsh Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 60(1) and 62(2) of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010(1), make the following Regulations:

Title, commencement, interpretation and application

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Integrated Family Support Teams (Composition of Teams and Board Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2012 and they come into force on 28 February 2012.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the 2010 Measure” (“Mesur 2010”) means the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010;

“consultant social worker” (“gweithiwr cymdeithasol ymgynghorol”) means a social worker with at least three years post-qualification experience and with such skills, qualifications and competences as may be set out by the Welsh Ministers from time to time in guidance issued under section 65 of the 2010 Measure;

“health visitor” (“ymwelydd iechyd”) means a person who is registered on the specialist community public health nurse part of the register maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and whose entry in that part of the register records competence in health visiting;

“nurse” (“nyrs”) means a person who is registered on the nurses part of the register maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Council;

“social worker” (“gweithiwr cymdeithasol”) means a person who is registered as a social worker with the Care Council for Wales, the General Social Care Council, the Health Professions Council or a similar register of social workers maintained in Scotland or Northern Ireland;

“team” (“tîm”) means an integrated family support team established under Part 3 of the 2010 Measure.

(3) These Regulations apply in relation to those areas of Wales in relation to which section 57 (establishment of family support teams) of the 2010 Measure has been commenced(2).

Composition of integrated family support teams

2.—(1) A team must include a minimum of five persons each of whom are from one of the following professional categories—

(a) social worker;

(b) nurse; or

(c) health visitor.

(2) A team must include at least one person from each of the categories in subparagraphs (a) to (c) of paragraph (1).

(3) One member of the team must be a consultant social worker.

3.  A team must contain staff with suitable skills and experience having regard to—

(a) the categories of cases which can be referred to it;

(b) the need of professional staff for administrative support; and

(c) any guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers under section 65 of the 2010 Measure.

Integrated Family Support Boards

4.  In order to achieve the objectives in section 62(1) of the 2010 Measure (functions of integrated family support boards) an integrated family support board must—

(a) receive and consider regular reports from the person managing the team including information about the levels of service activity and outcomes;

(b) seek to resolve issues in relation to the coordination of services provided by the team and other services provided by the local authority and the local health board;

(c) ensure that the team has procedures in relation to—

(i) child protection;

(ii) adult protection;

(d) establish a procedure for resolving disputes between the local authority and the local health board about the arrangements for the team;

(e) ensure that there are adequate arrangements for the supervision and professional development of the professional members of the team as set out in regulation 2(1);

(f) receive reports on the team’s income and expenditure and notify the local authority and the local health board of any financial or other resource issues which are likely to affect the teams ability to fulfil its functions.

Revocation

5.  The Integrated Family Support Teams (Composition of Teams and Board Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2010(3) are revoked.

Gwenda Thomas

Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services under authority of the Minister for Health and Social Services, one of the Welsh Ministers

30 January 2012

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make requirements about the professional categories from which the workers who are members of an integrated family support (“IFS”) team must be drawn. These Regulations also set out what an IFS board must do to meet the objectives conferred on it by section 62 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 (“the 2010 Measure”).

Section 57 of the 2010 Measure imposes a duty on local authorities to establish one or more IFS teams. These Regulations apply to local authority areas in relation to which section 57 has been commenced and which have a duty to establish an IFS team. On the date these Regulations are brought into force section 57 is in force in relation to the following local authority areas: Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wrexham, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan (see the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 (Commencement) Order 2010 and the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2012).

Regulation 2 requires that an IFS team must contain a core of five professionals drawn from three professions: social work, nursing and health visiting. Each profession must be represented in the team. In addition the social worker, or, where there is more than one social worker, at least one of them, must be a consultant social worker, as defined in regulation 1.

Regulation 3 requires the IFS team to have suitable skills and experience having regard to the types of cases that are to be referred to it, to guidance that the Welsh Ministers may issue and to the need of the professional members of the IFS team for administrative support.

Regulation 4 sets out the functions an IFS board must perform in meeting its objectives as set out in section 62(1) of the 2010 Measure.

Regulation 5 revokes the Integrated Family Support Teams (Composition of Teams and Board Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/1690) (W.159).

The Welsh Ministers' Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Directorate of Health, Social Services and Children, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.

(1)

2010 nawm 1.

(2)

On the date these Regulations are brought into force section 57 of the 2010 Measure is in force in relation to the following local authority areas: Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wrexham, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

(3)

S.I. 2010/1690 (W.159).