Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025

11 Duty to prepare and publish an annual sufficiency plan

In the 2014 Act, after section 75 insert—

“75A Duty to secure accommodation: preparation and publication of annual sufficiency plan

(1) Before the beginning of each financial year a local authority must prepare and publish a plan (an “annual sufficiency plan”) setting out the steps it will take in that year in pursuance of its duty under section 75(1).

(2) An annual sufficiency plan must—

(a) be in such form as may be prescribed by regulations, and

(b) be approved by the Welsh Ministers before publication (see sections 75B and 75C).

(3) An annual sufficiency plan must include, in relation to the financial year to which it relates—

(a) the number of children the local authority estimates—

(i) that it will be looking after, and

(ii) in respect of whom it will be unlikely to be able to make arrangements under section 81(2);

(b) an assessment of the amount of accommodation provided by local authority foster parents and children’s homes that will be available to the local authority for the purpose of placing children described in paragraph (a) in accordance with section 81A(2);

(c) an assessment of the extent to which that accommodation meets the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (b) of section 75(1);

(d) in relation to applications the local authority anticipates making for approval of supplementary placements in accordance with section 81B—

(i) an estimate of the number of applications anticipated,

(ii) the reasons why that number of applications is likely to be made,

(iii) information to be prescribed in regulations about for-profit providers who provide accommodation in Wales and who are likely to be named in those applications, and

(iv) information to be prescribed in regulations about private providers who provide accommodation in England and who are likely to be named in those applications;

(e) information about how steps to be taken by the local authority are intended to ensure that the authority has sufficient accommodation that meets the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (b) of section 75(1);

(f) such other information as may be prescribed by regulations.

(4) For the purposes of subsection 3(d)(iii) and section 81B, a “for-profit provider” means—

(a) in relation to accommodation provided by local authority foster parents, a service provider that does not fall within the descriptions given in section 81A(4)(a);

(b) in relation to accommodation provided by a children’s home, a service provider that does not fall within the descriptions given in section 81A(4)(b).

(5) For the purposes of subsection 3(d)(iv) and section 81B, a “private provider” means—

(a) in relation to accommodation provided by local authority foster parents, a person in England that is registered in respect of a fostering agency under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000;

(b) in relation to accommodation provided by a children’s home, a person, other than a local authority, that is registered in respect of the children’s home under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000.

(6) In this section and section 81A, “service provider” has the meaning given by section 3(1)(c) of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016.

75B Duty to secure accommodation: procedure for approval of sufficiency plan

(1) Before publishing its annual sufficiency plan, a local authority must—

(a) prepare a draft of the plan, and

(b) submit the draft to the Welsh Ministers for their approval.

(2) The first draft plan must be submitted to the Welsh Ministers no later than 4 months before the beginning of the financial year to which it relates.

(3) Subsequent draft plans must be submitted to the Welsh Ministers no later than 2 months before the beginning of the financial year to which they relate.

(4) Where the Welsh Ministers approve a draft of an annual sufficiency plan they must notify the local authority of their decision.

75C Duty to secure accommodation: procedure if draft plan not approved by Welsh Ministers

(1) This section applies if the Welsh Ministers decide not to approve a draft of an annual sufficiency plan submitted to them by a local authority under section 75B.

(2) The Welsh Ministers must notify the local authority setting out—

(a) the reasons for the decision;

(b) the period before the end of which the local authority must submit a further draft of the plan to the Welsh Ministers.

(3) The local authority must submit a further draft of the plan together with a report explaining how, in preparing the draft, the local authority has taken account of the reasons set out in the notice given under subsection (2).

(4) Section 75B(4) applies where the Welsh Ministers approve a further draft submitted to them under this section as it applies where the Welsh Ministers approve a draft submitted to them under section 75B.

(5) Subsections (2) and (3) apply where the Welsh Ministers decide not to approve a further draft submitted to them under this section as they apply where the Welsh Ministers decide not to approve a draft submitted to them under section 75B.”