Wales is first UK nation to legislate to end private profit from children’s residential and foster care as new Health and Social Care (Wales) Act receives Royal Assent
The Welsh government is marking a landmark moment in its efforts to improve services for children, families and disabled people.
Photo by Annie Spratt / Unsplash
The Health and Social Care (Wales) Act ends private profit from children in care. Care for looked after children will now be provided solely by the public sector, charitable or not-for-profit organisations. Any money going into the care system will go directly to children’s welfare rather than to profits for shareholders.
The issue is not just the profits are sizeable – a 2023 report commissioned by the Local Government Authority found that the biggest independent providers of children’s social care made profits of more than £300m in the preceding year. But the for-profit model can also have an impact on the level and kind of care provided to children. For example, researchers at Oxford University also identified a correlation between the outsourcing of children’s services to profit-making providers and the number of out-of-area and unstable placements.
The new legislation in Wales was passed by the Senedd last month and has now received Royal Assent. Wales is the first UK nation to legislate to end private profit in children’s residential and foster care.
In addition, the new law in Wales enables the introduction of direct payments within continuing NHS healthcare. The aim is to ensure that disabled people and those with long-term health conditions have greater control over their care arrangements.
Joanne, a young person with experience of care who is also a member of the charity Voices from Care Cymru, says: ‘Knowing that this is now law makes me feel proud as I know that private profits won’t be made from care experienced young people in the future. The money now will be reinvested for us to thrive and become the people that we want to be. These processes didn’t happen overnight, and it took a lot of time and hard work from us as young people, but we were not going to give up. We will keep working hard to make the care system a better place for children and young people.’
Dawn Bowden MS, Minister for Children and Social Care,adds: ‘This landmark law represents a fundamental shift in how we care for our most vulnerable people in Wales, whose voices have been central in our decisions. By removing profit from the care of looked after children, we’re ensuring that funding goes towards improving outcomes for young people and I’m proud that we’re the first UK nation to take this bold step.
‘This reform, alongside empowering disabled people through direct payments, shows our unwavering commitment to creating care services which are built on compassion rather than commercial interests. I would like to thank everyone involved in this act, and we will continue working together to transform our children’s services and improve health and social care.’
Rhian Davies, CEO of Disability Wales, says: ‘Disability Wales has long campaigned for disabled people in receipt of continuing health care to have the same rights to direct payments as their peers who access social care. This new law will enable continuing healthcare recipients to make their own decisions regarding how and by whom their personal support is provided. It marks a significant milestone in progressing the right to independent living for all disabled people in Wales.’
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