Therefore, I call on the Minister for Children and Social Care to move the motions. Huw Irranca-Davies.

Motion NDM6653 Julie James

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:

1.  Approves that the draft Regulation and Inspection Of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2018 are made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 18 January 2018.

Motion NDM6652 Julie James

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:

1.  Approves that the draft Social Care Wales (Specification Of Social Care Workers) (Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 are made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 23 January 2018.

Motions moved.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the motions, and, for obvious reasons, I urge Members to pay particularly close attention to every word I say, because I'm losing my voice.

Firstly, the Social Care Wales (Specification Of Social Care Workers) (Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 seek to alter existing regulations to open up the workforce register to domiciliary care workers from April 2018. This will enable them to voluntarily register with the workforce regulator, Social Care Wales. This provides the sector with a reasonable two-year lead-in period, during which Social Care Wales, domiciliary care workers and their employers will work together to prepare for and manage the registration process in advance of the mandatory registration in 2020.

Registering domiciliary care workers is the next step in my commitment to professionalise and raise the profile of those working within the social care sector. Domiciliary care workers are providing vital support across Wales, but expectations upon them are rising and they're increasingly faced with complex needs—some of which we've heard about in the debate just now. I firmly believe they deserve the recognition and the support that registration brings from the Welsh Government, from the regulator and from employers. It's also right that we encourage these workers to register, as they deliver some of the most demanding and challenging front-line services. Let us not forget that these services touch the lives of people every day, and we have a duty to ensure that they are suitably protected from harm. I believe that registration is equally important to provide public assurance that those who deliver care in people's homes have the appropriate skills and qualifications to do so and are answerable if there are concerns or failings. So, whilst registration alone does not guarantee against instances of poor practice, it does provide a proportionate mechanism for accountability.

I now move to the Regulation and Inspection Of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2018—and thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, for grouping them together—that are also before us this afternoon. These, largely, make technical changes to primary legislation in connection with the coming into force of provisions within Part 1 of the Act on 2 April. Essentially, they replace within existing primary legislation the terminology of the Care Standards Act 2000 with that of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, which supersedes the earlier Act. Therefore, the amendments are necessary to provide clarity and ensure consistency of the law.

Respectively, these regulations are vital to driving forward the regulation of the social care workforce and, in turn, improving the quality of care delivered and completing the statutory framework required at phase 2 of implementing this Act. As such, I commend them to Members.

Thank you very much. There are no speakers in the debate, so the proposal is to agree the motion under item 5. Does any Member object? No. Therefore, in accordance with Standing Order 12.36, the motion under item 5 is agreed.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

The proposal is to agree the motion under item 6. Does any Member object? Therefore, in accordance with Standing Order 12.36, the motion under item 6 is agreed.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.