Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025

10 Local authority duty to secure sufficient accommodation

(1) The 2014 Act is amended as follows.

(2) Section 75 is amended as is set out in subsections (3) to (6).

(3) In subsection (1)—

(a) for “steps that secure, so far as reasonably practicable,” substitute “all reasonable steps to secure”;

(b) in paragraph (a)—

(i) after “within” insert “, or is near to,”;

(ii) at the end, omit “and”;

(c) after paragraph (a) insert—

“(aa) in the case of accommodation with a local authority foster parent, is accommodation with a foster parent who is authorised as such by a person described in section 81A(4)(a),

(ab) in the case of accommodation in a children’s home, is accommodation in a children’s home in respect of which a person described in section 81A(4)(b) is registered, and”.

(4) In subsection (2), in paragraph (c), for “in” substitute “within, or is near to,”.

(5) In subsection (3), for the words from “having” to the end substitute “there being a range of accommodation that—

“(a) is within, or is near to, the authority’s area, and

(b) is capable of meeting the differing needs of the children mentioned in subsection (2).”

(6) In subsection (4), for the words from “accommodation providers” to the end substitute “and in section 75A, “children’s home” means a place in Wales‍ at which a children’s home service (within the meaning of section 2A(2) of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016) is provided.”.

(7) In section 197(1), in the definition of “children’s home”, in paragraph (b), at the beginning insert “except in sections 75 and 75A,”.