New regulations on adoption and fostering are due to come into effect between April and July 2019. This page will be updated accordingly.
Regulations and rules made under Acts are known as ‘secondary’ or ‘subordinate’ legislation. They are written in documents known as statutory instruments. This page lists the relevant regulations and rules in children’s social care, within different caegories. Where indicated, some of these sets of regulations are supported by guidance.
Placing looked-after children
Before 6 April 2016:
Placement of Children (Wales) Regulations 2007 SI 2007/310 (W.27)
Sets out the details of what a local authority must consider when it is finding and maintaining any placement for a child, including health and education considerations. These regulations apply to local authority foster care placements and to resdential homes, but not to adoption placements. If the child is being placed with someone who already has a parental role, the next set of regulations might apply as well:
Placement of Children with Parents etc Regulations 1991 SI 1991/893 [revoked in England 2010]
These set out detailed requirements where a child is looked after while a care order or interim care order is in force, but is being placed by the local authority with someone who has parental responsiblity for the child.
Since 6 April 2016:
The above regulations are replaced by the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 1818 (W261) – specifically regulations: 4-15; 22 -30; 25 – 28 and 8-9.
Reviews: before 6 April 2016
Review of Children’s Cases (Wales) Regulations 2007 SI 2007/307 (W26)
These set out the planning and reviewing duties of the local authority while a child is looked after, including the role of the independent reviewing officer.
Reviews: From 6 April 2016
Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 1818 (W261) specifically regulations 53-54 and 38-44
Fostering services and foster carers
Local Authority Fostering Services (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 SI 2019 No. 545 (W119)
The Regulated Fostering Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2019 SI 2019 No. 169 (W42) – these apply to non local authority fostering agencies.
The Fostering Panels (Establishment and Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2018 SI 2018 No. 1333 (W 260)
Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption and Fostering) Regulations Wales 2010 S1 2010/746 (W 75) – These regulations are about the procedures where a foster carer is not reappointed by the fostering panel. They are the basis for the Independent Reviewing Mechanism.
Leaving care
There are different regulations about the entitlements of young people when they are about to leave, or have left care, according to factors such as their age and needs, and how long they were looked after.
Before 6 April 2016 there were different provisions for these groups of young people:
- eligible children – aged 16 and 17 and in care
- relevant children- aged 16 and 17 who have left care
- former relevant children – aged 18- 21 who were eligible or relevant
- qualifying children – other young people who may qualify for assistance
The Children (Leaving Care) (Wales) Regulations 2001 No. 2189 (W. 151) –
These are the regulations that were passed under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 to insert new sections into the Children Act 1989 which set out the duties of local authorities toward young people who will be leaving or have left care.
The Children (Leaving Care) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2002 No. 1855 (W. 179) –
Amends the regulations to include a young person who returned home but for less than six months as a ‘relevant child’.
The Children (Leaving Care) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 No.1732 (W. 175) –
These Regulations make a minor amendment to 2001 Regulations above. They exclude children who would be eligible as “relevant children” (as defined in section 23A of the Children Act 1989) by virtue of being in hospital or in a form of detention on attaining the age of 16 and by having had a qualifying period of accommodation by a local authority, but where the qualifying period is made up entirely of short placements after which the child returned home.
From 6 April 2016, the regulations above are replaced by Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 1818 (W261) specifically regulations 45 – 52 and the The Care Leavers (Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1820). Note that there is substantial guidance on these regulations in the Part 6 Code of Practice, Chapter 5.
Other regulations about looked-after children
The Regulated Advocacy Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2019 SI No. 165 (W. 41)
These regulations set out the assistance that a young person should be given if they are making a complaint about the local authority, including their rights to independent advocacy.
Before 6 April 2016:
Visits to former looked-after children in detention (Wales) Regulations 2011 SI no. 699 (W106) –
Regulations made under section 23ZA of the Children 1989 which placed a duty on a local authority to assist children who no longer have ‘looked after’ status because they are in custody or prison. Children who are detained should have regular visits by a representative of the local authority and have access to advice, support and assistance.
From 6 April 2016:
The Visits to Children in Detention (Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1823)
Children in long-stay special residential schools, hospitals or care homes
Visits to Children in Long-Term Residential Care Regulations 2011 SI 2011 1010 [applies in England as well as in Wales] –
Sections 85 and 86 of the Children 1989 Act provide that when children in England and Wales are not looked-after, but are accommodated by health authorities or by local authorities exercising education functions (s 85) or in a care home or independent hospital (s 86) for a consecutive period of at least three months, this must be notified to the relevant local authority. The ‘relevant local authority’ is where the child is ordinarily resident and these regulations place duties on it to ensure that there are regular visits. These regulations are explained in a memorandum issued in 2011.
These regulations are supported by statutory guidance.
Private fostering
Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) (Wales) Regulations 2006 –
These apply when a person who does not have parental responsibility has a child living with them for more than 28 days.
Disqualification from Caring for Children (Wales) Regulations 2004 –
Under regulation 4, a person convicted of certain offences is disqualified from private fostering. [The rest of these regulation have been repealed.]
Special guardianship
Special Guardianship (Wales) Regulations 2005 SI 1513 (W157) –
Regulations for the provision of support services for special guardians, and about the special guardianship report required by the court.
New updated regulations from 2 July 2018:
The Special Guardianship (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 SI No. 473 (W102)
Adoption
Adoption Support Services (Wales) Regulations 2019 (2019/286 W 66)
Local Authority Adoption Services (Wales) Regulations 2019 (2019/291 W 69)
Adoption Agencies (Wales) Regulations 2005 SI No.1313 (W 95) amended by the Adoption Agencies (Wales) (Amendments) Regulations 2019
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Joint Adoption Arrangements) Wales Direction 2015 –
This sets out the legal framework for the National Adoption Service for Wales, which was introduced in October 2014.
Other regulations about children’s social care
The Integrated Family Support Teams (Review of Cases) (Wales) Regulations 2012 SI No.205 (W.35) –
These are the regulations about reviews of cases by Integrated Family Support Services (IFSS). They do not apply to looked- after children. Referrals of children in need of support can be made to local IFSS teams, which provide targeted support and help connect children and adult services, focusing on the family as a unit.
Social Services Complaints Procedures (Wales) Regulations 2014 – SI No 1794 (W187) –
These regulations explains how a local authority must respond to a complaint it receives about a social care service or need.
The Representation Procedure (Wales) Regulations 2014 SI No. 1795 (W188) –
This is a relatively new procedure which local authorities must follow in the consideration of representations (including complaints) made to them about the discharge of specific functions under the Children Act 1989 and the Adoption and Children Act 2002. These regulations are supported by statutory guidance.
The Care and Support (Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1305) –
These regulations support Part 3 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, assessing the needs of individuals for care and support.
The Care and Support (Eligibility) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1578)
and
The Care and Support (Care Planning) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1335) –
These regulations support Part 4 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, meeting needs for care and support.
Disability
The previous Services for Carers and Children’s Services (Direct Payments) (Wales) Regulations 2011 and The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children (Wales) Regulations 2012 SI 2012/1674
are replaced by the regulations and codes of practice issued under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
The Disabled Facilities Grants (Maximum Amounts and Additional Purposes) (Wales) Order No.2370 (W.205) –
Specifies the maximum amounts of grant (currently £36,000) that may be applied for under the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.
You can find the regulations about children’s services for inspection purposes on the Care Inspectorate Wales website.
Court rules
The Family Courts Procedure Rules set out the courts’ requirements of judges and lawyers in the Family Court, the High Court (Family Division) and any appeals in family cases heard by the Court of Appeal. The rules are supplemented by Practice Directions which explain required practice in detail.