Social care

Guidance and services

• Housing with Care Fund (HCF): guidance 2022 to 2023
  Guidance for Regional Partnership Boards, social housing landlords and commissioners.
• Social services codes of practice
  Guidance for local authorities and social care professionals on their responsibilities under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
• Charging for social care
  Local authorities can charge for the social care and support a person receives.
• Social services complaints procedure
  Guidance for local authorities on how to handle complaints about social services.
• The law on care and support: summary
  A summary of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and how it affects health and care services.
• The law on care and support: resources
  Materials to help you understand the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
• Well-being statement for people who need care and carers
  Explains what well-being means for people who need care and support and carers who need support.
• Safeguarding guidance
  Guidance to help you follow the law on safeguarding people.
• Review and monitoring of a child or young person’s care and support plan
  Standards for Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO) when reviewing the care of looked-after children.
• Advocacy standards and outcomes framework for children and young people
  The standards advocacy service providers have to meet when supporting children and young people.
• Directions for providing a National Adoption Service: letter
  Letter to local authorities about laws requiring them to work together to provide a National Adoption Service.
• Joint adoption service arrangements for local authorities
  The regulations that outline how local authorities must work together on adoption services.
• Guidance for regulated adoption services
  Guidance to help providers of regulated adoption services meet regulations.
• Intercountry adoption guidance
  Guidance for local authorities and voluntary adoption agencies on the adoption of children who are a national of a different country.
• Guidance for regulated fostering services
  Guidance to help providers of regulated fostering services meet regulations.
• Young people leaving foster care
  Guidance to help professionals who make arrangements for young people leaving care.
• Evaluating social services support for carers
  Documents to help local authorities get feedback from carers on care and support services.
• Flu vaccinations for residential care and nursing home staff in 2018 (WHC/2018/036)
  Advice on the free NHS flu vaccination programme for staff working in care and nursing homes.
• Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: guidance for professionals
  Social workers and foster carers can use these leaflets to help unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
• Regulation and inspection of social care: summary
  How the law on regulation of social care makes sure that care and support services are as good as they can be.
• Recording progress on personal outcomes in a care plan: guidance
  Guidance for local authorities and social workers on how to measure improvements to the lives of carers and the people they care for.
• Guidance for adult placement services
  Guidance to help providers of adult placement services meet regulations.
• Directions for the delivery of the National Adoption Service
  What local authorities must do to ensure effective joint arrangements to deliver adoption services are in place.
• Welsh language in social care: guidance for staff
  Advice to help you provide social care and social services to patients in Welsh.
• Social services and well-being legislation (WHC/2015/045)
  Guidance on the sections of the law on social care that are relevant to health boards and trusts.
• Guidance for regulated advocacy services
  Guidance to help providers of regulated advocacy services meet regulations.
• Charging for social services: code of practice
  What local authorities must do to follow the law on charges and financial assessments for care and support services.
• Care home visiting: children living in a care home (easy read)
  Guidance on seeing friends and family and going out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Intergenerational practice: bringing generations together
  How to set up activities to bring different age groups together and benefit all involved.
• Social care recovery framework: COVID-19
  Includes the principles and priorities designed to help social care recover from the effects of COVID-19.
• Analysis of options for the use of additional social care funding
  Analysis of options for the use of additional funding raised through a potential levy or alternative way of raising funding for adult social care. 
• Food and nutrition guidance for older people in care homes
  How to provide quality, nutritious food and support residents to eat and drink well.
• Unpaid carer financial support scheme
  Financial support for unpaid carers for providing care during the pandemic.
• Regional Partnership Boards (RPBs)
  RPBs bring together health boards, local authorities and the third sector to meet the care and support needs of people in their area.
• Hospital to home community of practice
  Guidance for those working with hospital to home community practice discharge models.
• Additional payment for social care workers aligned to the Real Living Wage
  Eligibility criteria for the £1,498 additional payment for social care workers and how it will be paid.
• Independent visitors: guidance for local authorities
  Explains the role of independent visitors and how to appoint them.
• Support payment for unpaid carers: privacy notice
  How we will store and process your details under the General Data Protection Regulation (Support Payment for unpaid carers).
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): supporting vulnerable people privacy statement
  How we will store and process your details under the General Data Protection Regulation.
• Citizen Voice Body information sessions: questions and answers
  Summary of question and answers from information sessions about the Citizen Voice Body held in January 2022.
• Evaluating the impact of rehabilitation services post COVID-19
  Guidance on evaluating the impact of rehabilitation services to help people affected by the impact of COVID-19.
• Children Receiving Care and Support Census and Looked After Children Census: privacy notice
  Explains how we use personal data collected by the Children Receiving Care and Support Census and Looked After Children Census.
• Removing profit from the care of looked after children: draft terms of reference
  Draft terms of reference for removing profit from the care of looked after children.
• NHS and social care financial recognition scheme: guidance for social care workers
  Introduced to recognise and reward the work and commitment of health and social care staff.
• Claim for help with health costs if you live in a care home: form HC1(SC)W
  Use this form if you are entitled to claim for health costs and you live in a care home or recently left local authority care.
• Understanding experiences and outcomes of the Social Services Performance and Improvement Framework
  Guidance to help local authorities to understand the experiences and outcomes of those who use social services.
• Social care alert levels COVID-19 testing guidance
  Guidance for social care services on the testing measures at each COVID-19 alert level.
• Older people's rights to care and support
  Guidance for service providers on meeting older people's rights to care and support.
• Sustainable Social Services Third Sector Grant for 2020 to 2023: funded projects
  List of projects we have funded under the grant scheme.
• Infection prevention and control in social care
  Guidance on infection prevention and control measures for social care. Also includes guidance on visits in and out of care homes.
• Loneliness and social isolation fund: application form 2021 to 2024
  Use this form to apply for the Loneliness and social isolation fund 2021 to 2024. Local authorities and County Voluntary Councils can apply for this funding in partnership.
• Your rights to care and support as an older person
  Understand your rights as an older person and how your local authority can help and support you.
• Health and Social Care Regional Integration Fund
  The Health and Social Care Regional Integration Fund is a 5 year fund from April 2022 to March 2027.
• Reducing the criminalisation of children in care and care leavers: all Wales protocol
  How organisations can support children in care and care leavers.
• Care home visiting: guidance for visitors
  What care home visitors need to do to ensure the safety of care home residents and staff.
• Care home visiting: adults living in a care home (easy read)
  Guidance on seeing friends and family and going out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Reporting suspected abuse, harm or neglect (safeguarding)
  What to do if you suspect someone is at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.
• Managing health and social care records: code of practice 2022
  Guidance for health and social care organisations on their responsibilities when managing records.
• Loneliness and social isolation fund 2021 to 2024
  Funding is available to support communities to tackle loneliness and isolation.
• Evaluating social services support: guidance for local authorities
  Guidance to help local authorities get feedback on care and support services for children, adults and parents.
• National approach to statutory advocacy: national performance reporting template local authority report
  Local authorities can use this template to report their quarterly data on Independent Professional Advocacy services.
• Care homes: guidance for providers and staff
  Guidance and advice for care homes and staff working in care and nursing homes.
• National approach to statutory advocacy: All Wales report template
  Template to record annual all Wales data on the delivery and take up of independent professional advocacy service.
• Real Living Wage for social care workers: guidance
  How local authorities and health boards should implement the Real Living Wage.
• Advocacy service specification statutory advocacy for children and young people
  Describes service requirements for organisations tendering to provide advocacy services.
• Guidance for advocacy providers on completion of the national performance reporting
  Guidance for advocacy providers on completing the national performance template.
• Care home visiting guidance for adults and children living in care homes
  How you can safely see your friends and family during this transition period out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Preparing for the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards
  Information to help health boards and local authorities plan for the implementation of the new safeguards.
• Social services performance measures for local authorities
  Guidance to help local authorities measure and improve the performance of their social services.
• Sudden and unexpected death in children and young people up to 25 years of age: support pathway
  What bereavement support individuals and families can expect.
• National bereavement care pathway
  Improving access to bereavement care for people to reduce local and national inconsistencies.
• Decarbonising Social Care in Wales
  How we plan to reduce our carbon emissions in the social care sector.

Policy and background Includes strategy, reports, projects and assessments.

• Social services: strategy
  Policy and strategy
  What we will do to ensure that social services provide good quality care and support.
• Social services national outcomes framework
  Policy and strategy
  How we will measure progress on improving care and support services.
• Social services national outcomes framework: annual report 2017 to 2018
  Report
  The progress we have made in improving care and support services from 2017 to 2018.
• Albert Heaney CBE
  Key people
  Albert Heaney CBE is the Chief Social Care Officer for Wales.
• Ministerial advisory group for carers: annual plan 2018 to 2019
  Policy and strategy
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  What we are doing to support and improve the lives of carers.
• Reducing the number of children in need of care
  Report
  Improving Outcomes for Children Advisory Group
  Recommendation about how local authorities can help and support families and children.
• Social services: report by the independent commission
  Report
  Independent report on social services with recommendations on how to improve them.
• Use of antipsychotic medication in care homes
  Report
  Report and recommendations on the use of antipsychotic medicines in the treatment of dementia.
• Adoption support services
  Report
  Report of a study of adoption agencies and adoptive parents on post adoption support services.
• Adoption disruption research study
  Report
  Results of a research study to find out why some adoption placements do not work out.
• Adoption disruption study: final report
  Report
  A report on the challenges faced by adoptive families and the support services needed to help prevent disruption.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group minutes: 29 January 2020
  Report
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 29 January 2020.
• The Regulated Services (Annual Returns) (Wales) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020
  Legislation
  The Regulations amend the date by which annual returns must be submitted by registered providers of social care. All returns are now required no later than 26 May 2021.
• Evaluation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014: expectations and experiences
  Report
  The report focuses on the short term outcomes and impacts across five areas.
• Care homes action plan: final update
  Policy and strategy
  How we have supported care homes during the winter.
• NHS and social care financial recognition scheme: integrated impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  We assessed how the NHS and social care financial recognition scheme will affect a number of areas.
• The Adoption and Children Act 2002 (Joint Adoption Arrangements) (Wales) (Amendment) Directions 2019
  Legislation
  These Directions reduce the timeframe local authorities have to refer details of prospective adoptive children and adopters to the Wales Adoption Register.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group summary of minutes: 6 November 2019
  Report
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Summary of minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 6 November 2019.
• Performance and improvement in social services: impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  A summary of how the performance and improvement of social services in Wales will affect a number of areas.
• The Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020: consultation statement
  Report
  A summary of feedback received about changes to the law made by the Regulations.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group minutes: 2 July 2020
  Report
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 2 July 2020.
• Market stability reports: integrated impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  Commencement of section 144B of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, and development of supporting regulations and code of practice and statutory guidance.
• The Primary Medical Services (COVID-19 Care Homes) (Directed Enhanced Services) (Wales) Directions 2020
  Legislation
  The Directions state what services GPs must deliver to care home residents during COVID-19.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group minutes: 17 February 2022
  Meeting
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 17 February 2022.
• Loneliness and social isolation (connected communities): impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  A summary of how the loneliness and social isolation strategy will affect a number of areas.
• COVID-19 Moral and Ethical Advisory Group Wales: 9 July 2020
  Meeting
  COVID-19 Moral and Ethical Guidance for Wales Advisory Group (CMEAG-Wales)
  Minutes for the COVID-19 Moral and Ethical Advisory Group Wales meeting held on 9 July 2020.
• Paying for social care
  Report
  An independent report by Professor Gerald Holtham commissioned by the Welsh Government.The report looks at options for new ways of paying for the rising demand for social care in Wales.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group summary of minutes: 11 October 2018
  Report
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Summary of minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 11 October 2018.
• The pressures and cost of social care: March 2020
  Report
  Inter-Ministerial Group on Paying for Social Care
  A report on the rising cost of social care to local authorities in 2018 to 2019 and projections for 2020 to 2023.
• Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing meeting minutes: 4 February 2020
  Meeting
  Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing
  Minutes from the Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing meeting held on 4 February 2020.
• Social care market stability reports: summary of responses
  Report
  Summary of responses for the market stability consultation.
• Carers’ Ministerial Advisory Group Meeting: 21 October 2021
  Meeting
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Minutes from the Carers’ Ministerial Advisory Group Meeting which took place on 21 October 2021.
• The Adoption Agencies (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2020: impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  We assessed how the The Adoption Agencies (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 will affect the adoption approval process.
• Regional Partnership Boards' use of pooled budgets for care home accommodation
  Report
  A review on the progress each of the 7 regional Partnership Boards have made in developing pooled funds.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group summary of minutes: 28 June 2018
  Report
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Summary of minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 28 June 2018.
• Wales Integrated Care Fund (ICF): annual report 2018 to 2019
  Report
  How regional partnership boards have used ICF revenue and capital funding to support health, social care and housing projects
• CMA care homes market study: government response
  Public response
  Government response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) final report on the care homes market.
• Minister and Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services: letter to social care staff
  Policy and strategy
  Ministers thank all social care staff for their work during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Integrated Care Fund (ICF): annual report 2019 to 2020
  Report
  How regional partnership boards have used ICF revenue and capital funding to support health, social care and housing projects.
• An integrated approach to improving educational outcomes for looked after children: report
  Report
  Improving Outcomes for Children Advisory Group
  How a joined up way of working can support looked after children in education.
• Carers’ Ministerial Advisory Group meeting: 7 July 2021
  Meeting
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Minutes from the Carers’ Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 7 July 2021.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group summary of minutes: 16 May 2019
  Report
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Summary of minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 16 May 2019.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group minutes: 26 January 2021
  Meeting
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 26 January 2021.
• Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing meeting minutes: 30 June 2020
  Meeting
  Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing
  Minutes from the Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing meeting held on 30 June 2020.
• Looked after children: children’s rights impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  Improving Outcomes for Children Advisory Group
  An assessment on how the reduction expectation plans affects children’s rights.
• Additional payment for social care workers aligned to the Real Living Wage: impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  How the additional payment will impact on different areas.
• Safeguarding children from child sexual exploitation: children’s rights impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  We assessed how our guidance on safeguarding children from sexual exploitation impacts on children and young people.
• Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (2020 amendments): impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  A summary of how amendments in 2020 to the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 will affect a number of areas.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group summary of minutes: 8 October 2019
  Report
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Summary of minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 8 October 2019.
• Loneliness and social isolation (connected communities)
  Policy and strategy
  Our strategy for tackling loneliness and social isolation.
• Population needs assessment 2021 to 2022
  Policy and strategy
  This relates to how Regional Partnership Boards carry out their population needs assessments.
• Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group minutes: 23 April 2020
  Report
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Carers
  Minutes from the Carers' Ministerial Advisory Group meeting held on 23 April 2020.
• Improving Outcomes for Children programme
  Collection
  Our plan to improve care services for children and families in need of help and support, and reports on progress.
• Public understanding of social care and paying for care: research
  Collection
  Findings from surveys and reviews on the public's understanding, thoughts and experiences of social care.
• More than just words: Welsh language plan in health and social care
  Policy and strategy
  How we will embed the Welsh language in health and social care so that people can access the care that they deserve and require.
• Review of neglect of older people in care homes in Gwent (Flynn Report)
  Collection
  Report, response and recommendations following a police investigation into neglect in care homes in Gwent.
• National Prison Health and Social Oversight Group: 3 May 2022
  Meeting
  Prison Health and Social Care National Oversight Group
  Minutes from the National Prison Health and Social Oversight Group meeting held on 3 May 2022
• National Prison Health and Social Oversight Group : 20 October 2021
  Meeting
  Prison Health and Social Care National Oversight Group
  Minutes from the National Prison Health and Social Oversight Group meeting held on 20 October 2021
• Measuring the Mountain: response to 2020 recommendations
  Policy and strategy
  Our response to the recommendations of a citizen jury report into what matters in social care. It explains how we will work with the social care sector to meet these recommendations.   
• Winter health and social care plans
  Collection
  The principles and priorities designed to help maintain health and social care services over winter.
• Mandatory registration of adult care home workers: integrated impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  We have assessed the impact of mandatory registration of adult care home workers on a number of areas. This includes equality, rural matters, biodiversity and Welsh language.
• Strategy for unpaid carers
  Collection
  Improving the recognition of and support to unpaid carers.
• Supporting our ageing society
  Collection
  What we will do to use the potential of today's older people and support our ageing society.
• National approach to statutory advocacy: Task and Finish Group 2015 to 2021 legacy document
  Report
  Task & Finish Group (T&FG) National Approach to Statutory Advocacy for Children and Young People
  A review of what the Advocacy Task and Finish Group (T&FG) has achieved in the past 6 years.