The Local Authority Social Services Annual Reports (Prescribed Form) (Wales) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023

Made: 12 December 2023

Laid before Senedd Cymru: 14 December 2023

Coming into force: 1 April 2024

The Welsh Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 144A(4) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014[^f00001], make the following Regulations[^f00002]:

Title and coming into force

1

The title of these Regulations is the Local Authority Social Services Annual Reports (Prescribed Form) (Wales) (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 and they come into force on 1 April 2024.

Amendment of the Local Authority Social Services Annual Reports (Prescribed Form) (Wales) Regulations 2017

2

The Local Authority Social Services Annual Reports (Prescribed Form) (Wales) Regulations 2017[^f00003] are amended in accordance with regulation 3.

3

In the Schedule (requirements as to the form of annual reports), for paragraphs 1 to 4 substitute—

(1) The information which is required to be included in an annual report must be set out under the following headings— Chapter 1: Director’s summary Chapter 2: Context Chapter 3: Performance assessment Chapter 4: Other information (2) The information included in chapter 3 must be set out in four parts under the following headings— Chapter 3(a): People Chapter 3(b): Prevention Chapter 3(c): Partnership and integration Chapter 3(d): Well-being (3) The information included in each part of chapter 3 must be set out in four sections under the following headings— Section (i): What do we know about the quality and impact of what we are doing? Section (ii): How do we know? Section (iii): What are we doing well and how can we do better? Section (iv): What progress did we make on the areas for improvement identified in last year’s report? What difference did we make? (4) The information included in chapter 4 must be set out in four parts under the following headings— Chapter 4(a): Inspections and reviews Chapter 4(b): Complaints and representations Chapter 4(c): Referencing other sources of information Chapter 4(d): Any other information

Transitional provision

4

• (1) The amendments made by regulations 2 and 3 have no effect in so far as they relate to the annual reports prepared by local authorities for the 2023/2024 financial year.

• (2) In this regulation, the meaning of “financial year” is the period one year beginning on 1 April and ending on 31 March.

Signed

Julie Morgan — Deputy Minister for Social Services under authority of the Minister for Health and Social Services, one of the Welsh Ministers — 12 December 2023

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations are made under powers given to the Welsh Ministers by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”). The 2014 Act makes provision in relation to annual reports by local authorities about the exercise of their social services functions.

The Local Authority Social Services Annual Reports (Prescribed Form) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (“the 2017 Regulations”) make provision in relation to the form of those reports. These Regulations amend the 2017 Regulations to set out revised requirements as to the form of annual reports.

Regulation 3 amends the information that must be included in the annual report and headings under which the information that is required must be included.

Regulation 4 makes transitional arrangements in respect of these amendments.

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 Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ and is published on www.gov.wales.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2014 anaw 4 (“the 2014 Act”). Section 144A was inserted by section 56(1) of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (anaw 2).

[^f00002]: See the definition of “regulations” in section 197 of the 2014 Act.

[^f00003]: S.I. 2017/274 (W. 72).