The Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017 / Rheoliadau Gwasanaethau Rheoleiddiedig (Darparwyr Gwasanaethau ac Unigolion Cyfrifol) (Cymru) 2017

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (“ the Act ”) introduces a new system of regulation of care and support services in Wales, replacing that established under the Care Standards Act 2000 (“ the Care Standards Act ”).

The Act introduces a new concept of “regulated services” which is defined in section 2 of the Act.

A person who wants to provide a regulated service must make an application for registration to the Welsh Ministers (in the exercise of their regulatory functions) specifying the regulated service that the person wants to provide. A person who is registered to provide a regulated service is referred to as a “ service provider ”.

The application for registration must specify the places at, from or in relation to which the service is to be provided. The application for registration must also designate an individual as the responsible individual in respect of each place at, from or in relation to which a regulated service is to be provided. The Welsh Ministers must be satisfied that the individual is a fit and proper person to be a responsible individual and that they are eligible to be a responsible individual.

In accordance with powers in section 27 of the Act, these Regulations impose requirements on service providers in relation to a regulated service, including requirements as to the standard of care and support to be provided.

In accordance with powers in section 28 of the Act, these Regulations impose requirements on responsible individuals in relation to a place in respect of which the individual is designated.

These Regulations also provide for offences in the event of failure by a service provider or a responsible individual to comply with specified requirements.

Guidance has been published about how service providers and responsible individuals may comply with the requirements imposed by these Regulations (including how providers may meet any standards for the provision of a regulated service) and section 29 of the Act requires service providers and responsible individuals to have regard to this guidance.

As well as placing requirements on service providers, these Regulations also place requirements on other persons: on the “appointed person” in the event of the insolvency of the service provider and on the personal representatives of the deceased in the event of the death of a service provider who is an individual.

Part 1 of the Regulations contains definitions of certain terms used in the Regulations. In particular, the definition of “ the service ” means that, in relation to a care home service, secure accommodation service or residential family centre service, a reference to “the service” is a reference the service provided at a particular location; in relation to a domiciliary support service, a reference to “ the service ” is a reference to the service provided in relation to a particular area.

Part 2 of the Regulations covers exceptions. The regulations in Part 2 are made under the powers in section 2(3) of the Act which enable the Welsh Ministers to prescribe things which, despite Schedule 1 to the Act (which sets out the definitions of regulated services), are not to be treated as regulated services. Regulations 2 and 4 set out the situations where the provision of accommodation is not to be treated as a care home service or as a residential family centre service respectively. Regulation 3 sets out the situations where the provision of care and support is not to be treated as a domiciliary support service.

Part 3 covers general requirements on the service provider as to the way the service is provided, including requirements in relation to the statement of purpose, the arrangements for monitoring and improvement, the support to be provided to the responsible individual, the steps to be taken to ensure the financial sustainability of the service and the policies and procedures which must be in place.

Part 4 covers the requirements as to the steps to be taken before the service provider agrees to provide care and support to an individual. A service provider must not agree to provide care and support unless they have first determined that the service is suitable to meet the individual's needs. Regulation 14 sets out the steps that must be taken and the matters which must be taken into account when making this determination. Where there is no local authority care and support plan in place, the steps to be taken include carrying out an assessment of the individual's needs.

Part 5 covers the requirements as to the steps to be taken once the service provider has agreed to provide care and support to an individual. Before the commencement of such provision, the provider must prepare an initial personal plan which, among other things, sets out how on a day to day basis the individual needs will be met. Within 7 days of the commencement of the provision, the service provider must carry out a detailed assessment of how the individual's care and support needs can best be met and this assessment then prompts a review of the initial personal plan, which will usually lead to a more comprehensive plan being prepared.

Part 5 also makes provision for the review of personal plans and the keeping and sharing of records of the personal plan.

Part 6 deals with the requirements as to the information to be provided to individuals on the commencement of the provision of care and support. Regulation 19 requires that this information must be in the form of a written guide and sets out detailed requirements about the guide, including its contents and format. More detail of the information it is expected the guide would usually contain is in the guidance issued under section 29 of the Act.