(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Section 166 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (“the Act”) enables Welsh Ministers to make regulations requiring a combination of local authorities and Local Health Boards to enter into partnership arrangements for carrying out specified functions.
These Regulations require Local Health Boards and local authorities to enter into partnership arrangements for the purpose of carrying out their functions under section 14 of the Act. These functions relate to the assessment of the needs of people in a local authority’s area, including the needs of carers (referred to in the regulations as a “population assessment”). A population assessment must also include an assessment of the range and level of services required to meet the needs of the people in the local authority’s area and the range and level of preventative services required.
Regulation 2 specifies the bodies (referred to in the regulations as “partnership bodies”) that must enter into a partnership arrangement for this purpose. Partnership arrangements must be entered into by each Local Health Board and the local authority or authorities within the area of each Local Health Board, as described in the Schedule.
Regulation 3 specifies the functions which are to be carried out in accordance with the partnership arrangements. These include the functions described in section 14 of the Act and any function described in regulations made under section 14(1) (see the Care and Support (Population Assessments) (Wales) Regulations 2015).
Regulations 4 and 5 make provision for the form of the partnership arrangement and the operation of the partnership arrangement, including the appointment of a lead co-ordinating body.
Regulation 6 makes provision for information sharing between the partnership bodies.
Regulation 7 enables the lead co-ordinating body to submit to the Welsh Ministers a copy of the population assessment reports which have been produced for the areas of each of the local authorities in the partnership arrangement.