Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025

Overview of Chapter

1 Overview of Chapter 1

(1) This Chapter makes provision to restrict the making of profit in the provision of care home services provided wholly or mainly to children (children’s home services), fostering services and secure accommodation services (referred to as “restricted children’s services”).

(2) It does this by amending Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 2) (“the 2016 Act”) and Part 6 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (anaw 4) (“the 2014 Act”).

(3) The amendments to the 2016 Act include—

(a) imposing a requirement on a provider of a restricted children’s service that is registered after the coming into force of the provisions to be incorporated as a “not-for-profit entity”;

(b) providing that unreasonable or disproportionate financial arrangements entered into by such an entity are evidence to which the Welsh Ministers must have regard when deciding if a provider is a fit and proper person;

(c) transitional provision for a provider of a restricted children’s service that is registered prior to the coming into force of these provisions (any such provider that remains registered but is not incorporated as a not-for-profit entity may remain registered subject to conditions imposed by regulations).

(4) The amendments to the 2014 Act impose corresponding requirements on a local authority in relation to accommodation provided by the authority to looked after children, including—

(a) amending an existing duty (in section 75 of the 2014 Act) on the authority to take steps to secure that there is sufficient accommodation within its area to meet the needs of looked after children so as to instead require the authority to take all reasonable steps to secure that there is sufficient accommodation provided by not-for-profit entities either within or near to its area to meet the needs of such children;

(b) a new duty on the local authority to submit a sufficiency plan to the Welsh Ministers setting out what steps it is taking to meet the requirement in section 75;

(c) amending an existing duty on the local authority to report to the Welsh Ministers annually (section 144A of the 2014 Act) to reflect both the duty to secure accommodation and the new sufficiency plan.

(5) The duty in the 2014 Act on a local authority to place a looked after child, who cannot live with a parent, in a children’s home or with foster parents is also amended so that where these circumstances arise, the local authority must place the child in accommodation provided by a not-for-profit entity unless that is inconsistent with the duties of the local authority under section 78 of that Act (duty to promote well-being of child) (in which case, the authority must apply for the Welsh Ministers to approve a placement in accommodation provided by a provider that does not meet the requirements imposed under the 2016 Act).