Social care

Guidance and services

• Measuring social services activity and performance: performance improvement framework 2023 to 2024
  The guidance defines the metrics for measuring activity and performance.
• Performance and improvement framework for social services: additional guidance 2023 to 2024
  Guidance for local authorities, allied organisations and other stakeholders.
• 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.
• Safeguarding guidance
  Guidance to help you follow the law on safeguarding people.
• Housing with Care Fund (HCF): guidance 2022 to 2023
  Guidance for Regional Partnership Boards, social housing landlords and commissioners.
• 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.
• Evaluating social services support for carers
  Documents to help local authorities get feedback from carers on care and support services.
• 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.
• 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.
• Intergenerational practice: bringing generations together
  How to set up activities to bring different age groups together and benefit all involved.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• Find an adult care home in Wales
  How to find a care home that meets your needs.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Decarbonising Social Care in Wales
  How we plan to reduce our carbon emissions in the social care sector.
• National bereavement care pathway
  Improving access to bereavement care for people to reduce local and national inconsistencies.
• Social services performance measures for local authorities
  Guidance to help local authorities measure and improve the performance of their social services.
• 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.
• Adult care home providers: promoting your services
  Care home providers can now promote their services on a website which provides information on all adult care homes in Wales.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Care homes: guidance for providers and staff
  Guidance and advice for care homes and staff working in care and nursing homes.
• Health and social care integration and rebalancing capital fund: guidance 2022 to 2025
  Supporting our commitments to develop 50 integrated health and social care projects.
• Single Unified Safeguarding Review: toolkit
  A selection of templates for practitioners to use to assist the review process.
• Single Unified Safeguarding Review
  Explains what the Single Unified Safeguarding Review is and the processes involved.
• Provider self-declaration form
  Provider declaration of Real Living Wage payments to eligible staff - Quarter 1 2023 to 2024.
• Explaining public law outlines (PLOs): easy read
  How social services should work with parents if they have concerns about the care of their children.
• Promote your adult care home
  Enhance your listing on the CareHomes.Wales website, free of charge.
• Unpaid carers delivery plan annual report
  The report details the progress made against the plan in 2022.
• Guidance for social workers for families where the parent has a learning disability
  The advice covers issues from giving support in court to identifying parents with a learning disability.
• Single Unified Safeguarding Review (SUSR): draft statutory guidance
  The draft statutory SUSR guidance outlines changes to the way safeguarding reviews will be undertaken in Wales.
• Health and Social Care Climate Emergency National Programme: scheme guidance
  Guidance for local authorities on the funding available to fund projects in social care that contribute to reducing emissions or help adapt to the impacts of climate change.
• Establishing a national care and support service
  Report of the expert group on establishing a National Care Service.
• Corporate parenting Charter
  Pledge of commitment for public sector bodies in their role as corporate parents.
• Sources of information for parents with a learning disability, in easy read
  Find sources of information on topics from pregnancy to when social workers get involved.
• Regional Partnership Boards: charter for service user, carer, third sector and provider members
  The charter sets out the main commitments to enable all members to have a meaningful role on the board.
• Information for parents with a learning disability: easy read
  Advice on how professionals can assist parents from how things are done in court to discussing important issues.
• Health and Social Care Climate Emergency National Programme 2023/24: privacy notice
  Privacy notice for the 2023/24 Health and Social Care Climate Emergency National Programme.

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

• Social services national outcomes framework: children's rights impact assessment
  Impact assessment
  How the social services national outcomes framework will affect children's rights.
• Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014: children's rights impact assessments
  Impact assessment
  An assessment of how parts of the Social Services and Well-being Act affect children’s rights.
• Social care guide to controlling acute respiratory infections from winter 2023 to 2024
  Policy and strategy
  Public Health Wales
  This advice covers personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, isolation and visiting guidelines.
• 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 Unpaid Carers: annual plan 2018 to 2019
  Policy and strategy
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Unpaid Carers
  What we are doing to support and improve the lives of unpaid carers.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Social care market stability reports: summary of responses
  Report
  Summary of responses for the market stability consultation.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Public Health Respiratory Framework 2023 to 2024
  Policy and strategy
  Our plans for the NHS, social care and communities for managing respiratory viruses.
• Winter health and social care plans
  Collection
  The principles and priorities designed to help maintain health and social care services over winter.
• 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.
• Strategy for unpaid carers
  Collection
  Improving the recognition of and support to unpaid carers.
• Charter for unpaid carers
  Policy and strategy
  Charter explaining the legal rights of unpaid carers in Wales under the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014.
• 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.
• Supporting our ageing society
  Collection
  What we will do to use the potential of today's older people and support our ageing society.
• Research on the employment of personal assistants in social care
  Report
  Social Care Fair Work Forum
  We commissioned research to better understand issues faced by personal assistants. The results help everyone improve support for personal assistants and direct payment recipients.
• 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.   
• 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.
• Integrated Care Fund (ICF): annual reports
  Collection
  How regional partnership boards have used funding to support health, social care and housing projects.
• Welsh Government response to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse
  Report
  A letter from the Chief Social Care Officer for Wales to the Chair of the inquiry.
• Evaluation of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
  Collection
  The evaluation of the Social Services and Well-being Act was made up of different stages, all of which resulted in different reports.
• Strengthening our community care system
  Policy and strategy
  What we plan to do to help the older and vulnerable people in our communities.
• Ministerial Advisory Group for Unpaid Carers meetings
  Collection
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Unpaid Carers
  Minutes from the Ministerial Advisory Group for Unpaid Carers meetings.
• National Prison Health and Social Care Oversight Group meetings
  Collection
  Prison Health and Social Care National Oversight Group
  Minutes from the National Prison Health and Social Oversight Group meetings.
• Ministerial Advisory Group for Unpaid Carers meeting minutes
  Collection
  Ministerial Advisory Group for Unpaid Carers
  Summary of discussion and agreements from meetings of the Ministerial Advisory Group for Unpaid Carers.
• Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing meeting minutes
  Collection
  Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing
  Minutes from the Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing meetings.