Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026

22 Ill-treatment or wilful neglect of children

(1) The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 20 (ill-treatment or wilful neglect: care worker offence)—

(a) in subsection (3)—

(i) omit “or” after paragraph (a);

(ii) after paragraph (b) insert “or

(c) care or support for a child aged 16 or 17 at a regulated establishment,”;

(b) after subsection (6) insert—

“(6A) “Regulated establishment” means—

(a) a children’s home in England as defined by section 1 of the Care Standards Act 2000;

(b) a residential family centre in England as defined by section 4 of that Act;

(c) an establishment in England providing accommodation in respect of which requirements under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 are applied by virtue of regulations under section 42 of that Act (power to extend application of Part 2 of that Act);

(d) youth detention accommodation in England as defined by section 248(1) of the Sentencing Act 2020;

(e) a place in Wales at which a care home service or a residential family centre service, as defined by Schedule 1 to the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 2), is provided;

(f) a place in Wales at which accommodation is provided to disabled children and which is notified to the Welsh Ministers in accordance with regulations under section 2 of that Act;

(g) youth detention accommodation in Wales as defined by section 188(1) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (anaw 4).”;

(c) in subsection (7) after “social care” insert “, or care or support at a regulated establishment,”.

(3) In section 21 (ill-treatment or wilful neglect: care provider offence)—

(a) in subsection (2)(a), for the words after “the provision of” to the end substitute “regulated care, or”;

(b) after subsection (2) insert—

“(2A) “Regulated care” means—

(a) health care for an adult or child, other than excluded health care,

(b) social care for an adult, or

(c) care or support for a child provided at a regulated establishment.”;

(c) in subsection (3)—

(i) in paragraph (b) for “health care or social care as part of health care or social care” substitute “regulated care as part of such care”;

(ii) in the words after that paragraph for “health care or social care”, at both places where those words appear, substitute “regulated care”;

(d) in subsection (4) for “health care or social care” substitute “regulated care”;

(e) in subsection (7)(a), for “health care or social care” substitute “regulated care”;

(f) in subsection (8), for “health care or social care” substitute “regulated care”;

(g) in subsection (9), in the second definition, after ““health care”” insert “, “regulated establishment””.

(4) In section 25 (care provider offence: liability for ancillary and other offences)—

(a) in subsection (4)—

(i) omit “or” after paragraph (a);

(ii) after paragraph (b) insert “, or

(c) the provision of care or support for a child at a regulated establishment.”;

(b) in subsection (5), in the second definition—

(i) before ““health care”” insert ““child”,”;

(ii) after ““health care”” insert “, “regulated establishment””.