The Local Authorities (Annual Sufficiency Plans) (Wales) Regulations 2026: equality impact assessment

The proposed regulations are not expected to have any significant negative impact on people on people with protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010. There are no anticipated negative impacts on individuals in protected groups or those living in low-income households. The proposed regulations are not anticipated to affect service delivery, eligibility, or quality in any significant way and therefore are not expected to introduce additional barriers. Existing duties under equality legislation remain unchanged, and providers will continue to operate in compliance with these requirements.

The changes are technical in nature and relate to specifying the form, content and approach local authorities must undertake to fulfil their sufficiency planning duty as set out the 2025 act. They do not introduce new requirements or obligations that would create barriers or alter access to services. Given the technical nature of the changes, mitigation measures are focused on communicating the changes to key stakeholders, principally to local authorities who are required to undertake their existing sufficiency planning duties. Those local authorities will also receive additional guidance and support in relation to undertaking their sufficiency plans in order to meet the regulatory requirements, therefore no unintended consequences have been identified. The proposal does not alter outcomes frameworks or monitoring arrangements, as it does not influence equality objectives or service accessibility. In summary, the proposed regulations are assessed as having minimal impact on equality.

There are nevertheless a number of small positive effects that the proposed changes can bring. While the primary impact of these proposals is to improve the consistency and transparency of sufficiency planning, they are also expected to have a moderate positive impact on equality. By requiring local authorities to produce plans in a standardised format with clearly defined core datasets, the regulations will improve transparency, comparability and the overall quality of evidence used in planning.

This will support more consistent identification of need and gaps in provision across Wales, including for children and young people with protected characteristics and those with complex or specialised needs. In turn, improved data, clearer forward planning and earlier identification of pressures are expected to support more equitable access to appropriate placements and reduce variation in outcomes between different groups of children over time.

By promoting more consistent planning, clearer understanding of unmet need, and improved visibility of gaps affecting particular groups of children, including those with complex needs, disabilities or linguistic requirements. Standardised sufficiency planning could support fairer and more transparent decision making across Wales. Although these specific requirements on the content and form of those plans may impact variably due to capacity constraints on local authorities, those risks are manageable, through support from ADSS (The Association of Directors of Social Services) Cymru, 4Cs (Children’s Commissioning Consortium Cymru) and provided guidance to ensure those requirements are implemented proportionately.

Protected characteristic or group:

Age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, belief and non-belief, sex or gender, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, children and young people up to the age of 18, low-income households.

What are the positive or negative impacts of the proposal?

The proposal is not expected to have any negative impact on individuals with protected characteristics or on groups covered by the Equality Act 2010.

Reasons for your decision (including evidence):

The proposed regulations are administrative in nature and are not anticipated to have any negative impact on individuals receiving support from registered service providers.

These proposals are expected to have a moderate positive impact on equality by improving the consistency, transparency and quality of sufficiency planning, enabling earlier identification of disparities in provision and supporting more equitable access to appropriate placements for children and young people.

How will you mitigate impacts?

The proposal is not expected to have significant negative impact on individuals with protected characteristics or on groups covered by the Equality Act 2010.

Mitigation measures involve informing key stakeholders, mainly local authorities, about changes.

Local authorities will be given extra guidance and support for sufficiency planning to meet regulations, and no unintended consequences have been found.

Human Rights and UN Conventions

What are the positive or negative impacts of the proposal?

The proposal is not expected to have any positive or negative impact on individuals with protected characteristics or on groups covered by the Equality Act 2010.

Reasons for your decision (including evidence)

The proposals are administrative in nature and are not anticipated to have any negative impact on individuals receiving support from registered service providers.

How will you mitigate negative Impacts?

There are no negative impacts to mitigate.

The proposed regulations are administrative and technical in nature and are not expected to have any impact on individuals supported by registered service providers, including those whose rights are protected under the Citizens Rights Agreements. These changes do not alter residency rights, access to services, or any entitlements derived from the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement, or the Swiss Citizens Rights Agreement. As such, there is no anticipated positive or negative effect on EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens lawfully resident in the UK.

The proposed regulations do not introduce new requirements that would affect rights related to residence, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, access to social security systems, or equal treatment. Individuals covered by the Citizens Rights Agreements will continue to enjoy the same protections and entitlements as before, including the right to work, study, and access healthcare and housing. No barriers are created, and no changes are made to existing compliance obligations for service providers.

In summary, the proposal does not impact workers’ rights, non-discrimination provisions, or the ability of frontier workers to continue working in the UK. The changes are confined to administrative adjustments and do not affect the delivery of care or the experience of those supported by registered providers. Therefore, the overall assessment is that the extent of impact is none.