The National Assembly for Wales (Social Services Explanations) Regulations 2005

Made: 7 June 2005

Coming into force: 1 July 2005

The National Assembly for Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by sections 101(1) and (2) and 195(1) and (2) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003[^f00001], hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) The title of these Regulations is the National Assembly for Wales (Social Services Explanations) Regulations 2005 and they shall come into force on 1 July 2005.

• (2) In these Regulations—

• “the Act” (“y Ddeddf”) means the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003;

• “the Assembly” (“y Cynulliad”) means the National Assembly for Wales;

• “employee” (“cyflogai”) in relation to a service provider, includes a member or trustee; and

• “service provider” (“darparydd gwasanaeth”) means a person other than a local authority who provides, has provided or has agreed to provide a Welsh local authority social service.

• (3) In these Regulations a reference to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph bearing that number in regulation 2 below.

Power to require explanations

2

• (1) The Assembly may in accordance with paragraph (2) require any person prescribed in paragraph (3) to provide to it, or to a person authorised by it, an explanation of any of the following—

• (a) any documents, records or items inspected, copied or produced under sections 98 to 100 of the Act;

• (b) any information provided under those sections;

• (c) any matters which are the subject of the exercise of any functions of the Assembly under Chapter 6 of Part 2 of the Act,

in cases where the Assembly considers the explanation necessary or expedient for the purposes of that Chapter.

• (2) A requirement under paragraph (1) must be given in a written notice which must also—

• (a) set out the why the explanation is required;

• (b) specify whether the explanation is to be provided in person or in writing (save that where the person required to provide the explanation is a body of persons corporate or unincorporate, the explanation must be required in writing); and

• (c) where the explanation is to be provided in person, specify, and give reasonable notice of, the time and place at which it is to be provided.

• (3) The prescribed persons are—

• (a) a local authority;

• (b) a member or former member of a local authority;

• (c) an elected mayor or former elected mayor of a local authority, within the meaning of section 39(1) of the Local Government Act 2000[^f00002];

• (d) an officer or former officer of a local authority;

• (e) a service provider;

• (f) an employee or former employee of a service provider or any other person who is assisting or has assisted that provider in the provision of a Welsh local authority social service;

• (g) a person (other than one listed in any of sub-paragraphs (b) to (f)) who is assisting or has assisted a local authority in the provision of a Welsh local authority social service.

Signed

Signed on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998[^f00003]

D. Elis-Thomas — The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly — 7 June 2005

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations permit the National Assembly for Wales to require any person listed in regulation 2(3) to provide an explanation to the Assembly of any thing listed in regulation 2(1), for example a document removed from premises by a authorised Assembly inspector under section 99 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”).

The Assembly may only impose a requirement to explain under these Regulations where it considers the explanation necessary or expedient for the purposes of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of the 2003 Act. Under that Chapter the Assembly has the function of encouraging improvement in the provision of Welsh local authority social services and undertaking reviews of and investigations into the way in which Welsh local authorities discharge their social services functions. The Assembly must also comply with regulation 2(2) when imposing a requirement to explain.

Section 101(3) of the 2003 Act has the effect that a person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any requirement imposed under these Regulations is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2003 c. 43. See section 148 of the Act for the definition of “prescribed”.

[^f00002]: 2000 c. 22.

[^f00003]: 1998 c. 38.