The Regulated Services (Annual Returns) (Wales) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made under powers given to the Welsh Ministers by the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 2) (“the Act”). They amend a particular requirement placed on registered providers of social care and are made in response to the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wales.

Part 1 of the Act places requirements on providers of the social care services that are regulated by the Act. They include a requirement in section 10 to submit an annual return to the Welsh Ministers. The Regulated Services (Annual Returns) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/1097 (W. 277)) (“the Annual Returns Regulations”) provide further details about the annual returns. They include provision made under section 10(4) about the dates by which the returns must be submitted.

These Regulations amend regulation 10(1) of the Annual Returns Regulations. That regulation relates to the date by which annual returns relating to financial years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 must be submitted. The effect of the amendment made by regulation 4 is that providers of all types of regulated services must submit annual returns no later than 26 May 2022. Previously, service providers were required to submit annual returns for financial years 2018-19, 2019-2020 and 2020-21 no later than 26 May 2021.

These Regulations also insert a new regulation 2A into the Annual Returns Regulations which disapplies certain provisions of those Regulations in relation to an annual return submitted in respect of any of the financial years specified in regulation 10(1) (as amended by regulation 4).

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.