The Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

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”).

Part 1 of the Act sets out the social care services to which the Act applies, and defines them as “regulated services”. The types of “regulated services” set out in the Act include “care home services”. Section 2(3) gives the Welsh Ministers the power to prescribe in regulations that particular services are not “regulated services”.

Section 27 of the Act gives the Welsh Ministers the power to impose, in regulations, requirements on providers of regulated services in relation to the services they provide. The Welsh Ministers have exercised this power to make the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/1264 (W. 295)) (“the Regulated Services Regulations”).

These Regulations provide that a local authority intermediate care service is not a “care home service” under the Act. These Regulations also change the extent to which Part 13 of the Regulated Services Regulations applies to accommodation-based services and make various other amendments to the Regulated Services Regulations.

The purpose of intermediate care is to avoid unnecessary or premature admission of an adult to hospital or a care home service, and to enable an adult’s timely discharge from hospital. A local authority intermediate care service is provided to adults in accommodation vested in the local authority, where the care and support is provided by a regulated local authority domiciliary support service.

Regulations 3 and 4 are made under section 2(3) of the Act and amends regulation 2 of the Regulated Services Regulations (care home services). The effect of the amendment is that the provision of accommodation together with nursing or care, where the accommodation and nursing or care are provided to adults for the purposes of a local authority intermediate care service, does not constitute a “care home service” under the Act.

This exception only applies where the local authority is responsible for providing intermediate care, and the care is provided to each adult for a maximum of 16 weeks at a time.

Part 13 of the Regulated Services Regulations deals with the circumstances where additional requirements about the standard of premises apply to new accommodation-based services. Part 13 does not apply to services accommodating four or fewer individuals. Regulations 5 and 6 change the extent to which the Part 13 requirements apply to registered accommodation-based services that reconfigure their premises in order to accommodate five or more individuals.

Accommodation-based services which were previously exempt from the requirements of Part 13 because they provided accommodation to fewer than five individuals, or because they provided accommodation to more than five individuals in non-Category A, B or C premises will be required to comply with the requirements of Part 13 if reconfiguration of the premises results in an increased capacity of five or more individuals at the service. The Part 13 requirements will apply to any additional bedrooms created because of the reconfiguration and to all communal and outdoor areas. The increased capacity at the service will be reflected in a variation of the conditions of registration for the service.

Regulations 7 and 8 make minor, miscellaneous amendments.

Regulation 9 makes transitional arrangements in respect of the amendment made by regulation 6.

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 Department of Health and Social Services, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, CF10 3NQ and is published on www.gov.wales.