Explanatory note

The Regulated Services (Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (“the principal Regulations”) make provision about the form and content of applications for registration and applications for variation of registration under Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (“the 2016 Act”).

These Regulations revoke and replace the Regulated Services (Registration) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026. These Regulations amend the principal Regulations to give effect to changes introduced by section 6A(1) of the 2016 Act, which restricts the provision of certain children’s services to local authorities and not-for-profit entities. These services, referred to in these Regulations as “restricted children’s services”, include children’s home services, secure accommodation services and fostering services.

Regulation 4 inserts definitions into regulation 2 of the principal Regulations for “not-for-profit entity”, “restricted children’s service” and certain types of charitable and community interest organisations. Regulation 4 also amends the definition of “applicant” to include persons who are making an application under section 6C of, and paragraph (4) of Schedule 1A to, the Act, for their registration to be subject to the requirement in section 6A(1) of the Act.

Regulation 5 inserts a new regulation 3B into the principal Regulations, which requires applicants seeking to register to provide a restricted children’s service to provide additional information specified in new paragraph 7A of Schedule 1. It also enables the Welsh Ministers to waive certain application requirements if the applicant is a not‑for‑profit entity taking over a restricted children’s service at the same place under an agreement with the existing provider, and if, having regard to information held about the existing provider, the Welsh Ministers consider a waiver appropriate. This enables the Welsh Ministers to adopt a streamlined approach to registration where an existing restricted children’s service is being transferred to a not-for-profit entity which meets the requirements of section 6A(1) of the 2016 Act and the Welsh Ministers already hold information about that service.

Regulation 6 inserts new regulation 11A. New regulation 11A requires applicants seeking to vary their registration to become subject to the requirement in section 6A(1) of the 2016 Act to provide information specified in new paragraph 7A of Schedule 1.

Regulation 7 substitutes regulation 12 to make provision about the form of applications to vary registration, including those made under section 6C of, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 1A to, the 2016 Act.

Regulations 8 and 9 insert new regulations 14 and 15, which make provision about the content and form of applications to cancel registration as a service provider.

Regulation 10 amends Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations. It substitutes paragraph 7 to update the information required from corporate applicants and inserts new paragraph 7A, which sets out the constitutional and evidential documents that must be provided by not-for-profit entities applying to provide restricted children’s services.

Regulation 11 revokes the Regulated Services (Registration) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

The effect of the amendments made by regulations 1 to 7 and regulation 10 is to ensure that applications to register, or to vary registration in respect of restricted children’s services, include sufficient information to demonstrate compliance with the statutory requirement that such services are provided by not-for-profit entities.

The effect of the amendments made by regulations 8 and 9 is to set out the requirements for an application to cancel registration as a service provider.

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 on the website at www.gov.wales.