Welsh Ministers have made the Regulated Services (Registration) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (WSI 2026/2), dated 12 January 2026, to take effect from 1 April 2026. The instrument revises registration, variation and cancellation processes under the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 to align with the new Section 6A test for not‑for‑profit provision of restricted children’s services introduced by the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025.
The principal 2017 Regulations are updated to incorporate statutory definitions. ‘Restricted children’s service’ has the meaning in section 2A of the 2016 Act and includes children’s home services, fostering services and secure accommodation. ‘Not‑for‑profit entity’ follows section 6A(2) and must be one of four forms: a charitable company limited by guarantee without share capital, a charitable incorporated organisation, a charitable registered society, or a community interest company limited by guarantee without share capital. Section 6B provides the detailed definitions.
New regulation 3B applies to applications to register a restricted children’s service. In addition to the existing information in regulation 3, applicants must provide the materials listed in new paragraph 7A of Schedule 1 so that Welsh Ministers can assess compliance with section 6A. A waiver may be granted where a not‑for‑profit intends to take over the same service at the same place from an existing provider under an agreement and sufficient information is already held.
Variation of registration is brought within the same evidential framework. Regulation 11A requires applications made under section 6C and paragraph 4 of Schedule 1A-so that a provider’s registration becomes subject to section 6A-to include the information in paragraphs 7 and 7A of Schedule 1.
Routes for submitting changes are standardised. A substituted regulation 12 confirms that all applications to vary registration must be made via the Welsh Government’s online system, including those made under section 6C. For cancellations, new regulation 15 requires the same online route.
New regulation 14 sets the content of an application to cancel registration. Providers must specify the proposed effective date and the reason, explain how they will comply with regulations made under section 27 of the 2016 Act until the service ends, and confirm any notices to service users, the relevant local authority, the relevant Local Health Board and any other parties.
Schedule 1 is amended. Paragraph 7 is replaced to update the corporate information required from body corporate applicants, including company and charity numbers and, where relevant, full details of parent and subsidiary entities. The definition of ‘exempt charity’ is tied to section 22 of the Charities Act 2011. New paragraph 7A-cross‑referred to in regulations 3B and 11A-will require constitutional and evidential documents from not‑for‑profit applicants seeking to run restricted children’s services.
In policy terms, the changes operationalise section 6A from 1 April 2026: only local authorities and not‑for‑profit entities can be registered to provide restricted children’s services in Wales. Care Inspectorate Wales will continue to discharge the registration function on behalf of Welsh Ministers, applying the clarified tests and documentation.
For providers transitioning to not‑for‑profit models, the waiver power in regulation 3B offers a targeted reduction in paperwork where a like‑for‑like takeover of an existing service is intended and official records already contain the necessary information. This is designed to avoid duplicate submissions while preserving fitness, probity and quality checks.
Welsh Government and Care Inspectorate Wales have indicated a cut‑off of 31 March 2026 for registration or variation applications for restricted children’s services to be assessed under pre‑section‑6A rules, with the new requirements applying from 1 April 2026. Commissioners and providers should align transition, procurement and exit plans with these dates. The Regulations were signed by Dawn Bowden MS, Minister for Children and Social Care, on 12 January 2026.