Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:10 pm on 25 June 2019.
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion. The statutory instrument before you today makes minor amendments to the Regulated Advocacy Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2019. It is the intention that these amendment regulations come into force on 1 July 2019. Now, these amendments have been brought forward as a response to issues raised by the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee in their technical scrutiny report on the regulated advocacy services regulations. The amendment regulations are corrective in nature and only seek to address the minor issues raised in the report. They do not make any substantive changes to the advocacy services regulations.
The amendments make the following changes: correcting a reference in regulation 6(4)(c) to read 'Part 2' instead of 'Part 3', correcting a reference in regulation 7(3)(c) to read 'Part 2' instead of 'Part 3', and correcting a reference in regulation 15(1)(d) to read as 'service commissioners' rather than 'commissioning authorities'. The regulated advocacy services regulations themselves were introduced as part of our legislative package to fully implement the requirements of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016. They aim to ensure that providers of regulated social care services achieve the required standard of care and support so that people's well-being and safety are maintained.
The requirements within the advocacy services regulations ensure that people have access to up-to-date information about the services that relate to them and that these services are person-centred. The regulations also set out requirements in relation to safeguarding, staffing and governance of services being provided. The amendment regulations before you make necessary minor technical corrections to the advocacy services regulations in order for them to operate fully as intended, and I ask Members to support them.