The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children (Wales) Regulations 2012
These are the first regulations to be made under paragraph 6(2) of Schedule 2 to that Act, prescribing for the purposes of paragraph 6(1)(c) of Schedule 2, how the duty is to be exercised.
Title, commencement and application
1.
(1)
The title of these Regulations is the Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children (Wales) Regulations 2012.
(2)
These Regulations come into force on 28 June 2012.
(3)
These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.
Interpretation
2.
In these Regulations—
“the 1989 Act” (“Deddf 1989”) means the Children Act 1989;
“carer” (“gofalwr”) means a person who provides care for a disabled child and who is—
(a)
the child’s parent, or
(b)
Duty to make provision
3.
(a)
who would be unable to continue to provide care for the disabled child unless breaks from caring were given to them; and
(b)
who would be able to provide care for the disabled child more effectively if breaks from caring were given to them to allow them to—
(i)
undertake education, training or any regular leisure activity,
(ii)
meet the needs of other children in the family more effectively, or
(iii)
carry out day to day tasks which they must perform in order to run their household.
Types of services which must be provided
4.
(1)
In performing its duty under paragraph 6(1)(c) of Schedule 2 to the 1989 Act, a local authority must provide, so far as it is reasonably practicable, a range of services which is sufficient to assist carers to continue to provide care or to do so more effectively.
(2)
The provision that a local authority must provide in accordance with paragraph (1) must include, as appropriate, a range of—
(a)
day-time care in the homes of disabled children or elsewhere,
(b)
overnight care in the homes of disabled children or elsewhere,
(c)
educational or leisure activities for disabled children outside their homes, and
(d)
services available to assist carers in the evenings, at weekends and during the school holidays.
5.
(1)
A local authority must by, 27 September 2012, prepare a statement for carers in its area (a “short breaks services statement”) setting out details of—
(a)
the range of services provided in accordance with regulation 4,
(b)
any criteria by which eligibility for those services will be assessed, and
(c)
how the range of services is designed to meet the needs of carers in its area.
(2)
The local authority must publish its short breaks services statement, including by placing a copy of the statement on its website.
(3)
The local authority must keep its short breaks services statement under review and, where appropriate, revise the statement.
(4)
In preparing and revising its short breaks services statement, the local authority must have regard to the views of carers in its area.
These Regulations are the first regulations to be made in relation to Wales under paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989, which imposes duties on local authorities, as part of the range of services they provide to families, to provide breaks from caring to assist parents and others who provide care for disabled children.
Sub-paragraphs (1)(c) and (2) of paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989 were inserted by the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 (section 25).
The Regulations, which come into force on 28 June 2012, prescribe the manner in which local authorities must make provision for short breaks for the carers of disabled children in their area. Local authorities must have regard to—
the needs of those carers who would be able to provide care more effectively if they had breaks from caring, and
the needs of those carers who would be unable to continue to provide care unless a break were offered to them (regulation 3).
They require that local authorities provide a range of short breaks services (regulation 4), and that local authorities, in consultation with carers in their area, prepare, publish, and keep under review a “short breaks services statement” setting out what services are available, the categories of carer who may be eligible to gain access to them, and how they are designed to meet the needs of carers in the area (regulation 5).
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 in complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh Government at: Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.