The Childcare Act 2006 (Local Authority Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2016
The Welsh Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred on the National Assembly for Wales by sections 26(1)(a) and (2) of the Childcare Act 2006 M1 and now vested in them M2 make the following Regulations.
Title, commencement and application1.
(1)
The title of these Regulations is the Childcare Act 2006 (Local Authority Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2016.
(2)
These Regulations come into force on 1 April 2016.
(3)
These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.
Interpretation2.
(1)
In these Regulations—
“the Act” (“y Ddeddf”) means the Childcare Act 2006;
“the Measure” (“y Mesur”) means the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 M3;
“assessment” (“asesiad”) means the assessment carried out by a local authority in accordance with these Regulations;
“child minding” (“gwarchod plant”). has the meaning in Part 2 of the Measure;
“childcare” (“gofal plant”) has the meaning in section 30 of the Act;
“childcare provider” (“darparwr gofal plant”) means any person who is registered under Part 2 of the Measure to provide childcare;
“day care” (“gofal dydd”) has the meaning in Part 2 of the Measure;
F1“Family Information Service” (“Gwasanaeth Gwybodaeth i Deuluoedd”) means a service which a local authority is required to provide under section 27 of the Childcare Act 2006;
F2...
“home childcare providers” (“darparwyr gofal plant yn y cartref”) means persons approved under a scheme made by the Welsh Ministers pursuant to F3section 60 of the Government of Wales Act 2006;
F4...
“relevant premises” (“mangre berthnasol”) means premises on which a person acts as a childcare provider;
F1“third sector organisation” (“sefydliad trydydd sector”) means an organisation which a person might reasonably consider to exist wholly or mainly to provide benefits for society;
“Welsh medium education forum” (“fforwm addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg”) means a body established by a local authority for the purpose of improving the provision of Welsh medium education in its area, the members of which consist of the local authority and such other persons as the local authority considers appropriate M4.
(2)
In these Regulations, the types of childcare are—
(a)
child minding;
(b)
each of the types of day care identified in standards made by the Welsh Ministers from time to time and to which regard must be had pursuant to section 30(3) of the Measure; and
(c)
home childcare providers (nannies).
Duty to prepare and publish assessments3.
(1)
The local authority must prepare and publish assessments of the sufficiency of the provision of childcare in its area.
(2)
The first assessment must be published by 31 March 2017.
F5(2A)
But the date by which the assessment must be published in 2027 and in subsequent years is 30 June.
(3)
Subsequent assessments must be prepared and published at five yearly intervals.
(4)
In preparing an assessment the local authority must have regard to any guidance given by the Welsh Ministers.
(5)
The local authority must send a copy of the assessment prepared under paragraphs (2) and (3) to the Welsh Ministers.
Action Plan4.
(1)
Each assessment prepared by the local authority must include an action plan.
(2)
Where an assessment identifies—
(a)
an insufficiency in childcare provision for children in the local authority area, the action plan must set out what steps need to be taken to improve the opportunities for children to access childcare provision within that local authority area, or
(b)
that opportunities for children to access childcare in the local authority area are sufficient, the action plan must set out what steps need to be taken to maintain opportunities for children to access childcare within that local authority area.
F6(3)
An action plan must—
(a)
prioritise the steps to be taken, and
(b)
set out the time period within which the local authority will complete the steps.
F7Annual Progress Report4A.
(1)
A local authority must prepare an annual progress report and a further action plan on each anniversary of the date of the publication of the assessment.
(2)
The annual progress report must set out the progress which has been made against the steps in the action plan and set out any significant issues or changes since the publication of the assessment.
Matters to be contained in the assessment5.
The Schedule (which prescribes the matters which must be contained in the assessment) has effect.
Consultation6.
In preparing the assessment the local authority must consult F8the following persons in its area—
(a)
children;
(b)
parents or carers;
(c)
childcare providers;
F9(d)
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F9(e)
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F9(f)
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F9(g)
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F9(h)
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F9(i)
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F9(j)
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F9(k)
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F107.
(1)
In preparing the assessment the local authority must—
(a)
consult with the following—
(i)
the Safeguarding Children Board of which it is a Safeguarding Board partner;
(ii)
if established in the local authority’s area, the Welsh medium education forum;
(iii)
the local authority’s play sufficiency lead officer, if any;
(iv)
the body responsible for determining whether a child has additional learning needs and preparing and maintaining an individual development plan under the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018, and
(b)
notify any Jobcentre Plus offices in the local authority’s area and invite the submission of any views.
(2)
In this regulation, “play sufficiency lead officer” means the officer in the local authority designated with responsibility for ensuring that the local authority fulfils its duties under section 11 of the Measure.
Draft Assessment8.
Prior to publishing the assessment prepared under these Regulations, the local authority must publish a draft of the assessment on the local authority's website for a period of 28 days to give the persons who have been consulted the opportunity to comment on the draft.
9.
The local authority must amend the draft assessment in such way as they consider appropriate in response to any comments received.
Method of publication of assessment10.
The local authority must publish the assessment on the local authority's website.
11.
The local authority may provide copies of the assessment to the public upon request.
Annual progress reportsF1112.
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Revocation13.
The Childcare Act 2006 (Local Authority Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2013 M5 are revoked.
F12Schedule Matters to be contained in the assessment
1.
In this Schedule—
“childcare provider’s waiting list” (“rhestr aros darparwr gofal plant”) means a list of applicants who await an offer from a childcare provider for a childcare place in respect of a child;
“funded childcare” (“gofal plant a gyllidir”) means childcare funded in whole or in part by the Welsh Ministers through grants or other schemes through which funds are paid directly or indirectly to childcare providers to reduce the cost of those services to parents.
2.
The local authority’s assessment must include an analysis of the availability and lack of availability of each type of childcare specified in regulation 2(2), and include details of—
(a)
the capacity of services provided by childcare providers,
(b)
the number of children currently cared for,
(c)
the capacity of childcare providers who are able to support children who have additional learning needs or children who require specialist care due to a disability,
(d)
the capacity of childcare providers registered to provide funded childcare,
(e)
the capacity of services who offer Welsh language places,
(f)
the number of vacant places and reasons for the vacancies,
(g)
an assessment of a childcare provider’s waiting lists and reasons why the waiting lists exist,
(h)
the range of services offered by each of the childcare types,
(i)
the age range of children in the types of childcare,
(j)
the range of average hourly fees charged for the childcare,
(k)
an assessment of demand for childcare in the area, including—
(i)
the effect of change in the number of—
(aa)
children using childcare,
(bb)
children using Welsh medium childcare,
(cc)
children with additional learning needs, and
(ii)
the effect of population change, and
(l)
any other factors that the local authority consider relevant to demand.
Geographical distribution
3.
The local authority’s assessment must include details of—
(a)
the geographical distribution of each type of childcare in the local authority’s area,
(b)
any gaps in that geographical distribution, and
(c)
consideration of the effects of childcare supply and demand in neighbouring local authority areas.
Sustainability
4.
The assessment must include details of any factors that have affected the sustainability of existing childcare providers in the local authority’s area.
Gap analysis
5.
The assessment must include an analysis of the supply and demand and any gap in the supply and demand for childcare provision in the local authority’s area, taking into account a local demographic analysis.
Summary of unmet needs
6.
Where any unmet childcare needs have been identified in the local authority’s area, the assessment must include an analysis of those needs that have not been met, including—
(a)
types and range of childcare services unavailable;
(b)
age of children;
(c)
times at which childcare is unavailable;
(d)
location of childcare;
(e)
provision for children with additional learning needs or who require specialist care due to a disability;
(f)
Welsh language childcare provision;
(g)
other language childcare provision;
(h)
funded childcare places;
(i)
any other factors.
Barriers to childcare provision
7.
The assessment must include details of any barriers identified in accessing the provision of childcare, including—
(a)
the accessibility of childcare provision;
(b)
whether the cost of childcare prevents or discourages parents from accessing services;
(c)
the barriers experienced by—
(i)
working parents;
(ii)
parents seeking work or training opportunities;
(iii)
unemployed households;
(iv)
low income families;
(v)
lone parent families;
(vi)
families from ethnic minority backgrounds;
(vii)
families with children who have additional learning needs;
(d)
any other barriers identified.
Development and training
8.
The assessment must include an analysis of any issues identified in relation to the development of the workforce for childcare services in the local authority area, including existing workforce qualifications and training and an outline of how they will be addressed.
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations revoke and replace, with changes, the Childcare Act 2006 (Local Authority Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2013.
Regulation 3 imposes a duty upon local authorities to carry out childcare sufficiency assessments.
Regulation 4 sets out a requirement for an action plan to be prepared as part of the local authority's assessment.
Regulation 5 introduces the Schedule which prescribes the matters that must be contained in the assessment.
Regulations 6 and 7 prescribe the persons who local authorities could consider consulting and the persons they must consult in preparing the assessment.
Regulation 8 requires local authorities to allow the persons who have been consulted the opportunity to comment upon the draft assessment before publication.
Regulations 10 and 11 deal with the requirement to publish the draft assessment.
Regulation 12 requires local authorities to submit annual progress reports to the Welsh Ministers.
These Regulations come into force on 1 April 2016.
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 of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Education and Public Services Group, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ.