From 1 April for-profit providers of children’s homes and secure accommodation services will stop being registered across Wales.
In line with changes set out in the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025, which became law last year, no new for‑profit children’s homes, secure accommodation services, or fostering providers will be able to register in Wales and existing for‑profit providers will not be able to add new services or homes.
And updated registration regulations will mean organisations must show they meet not‑for‑profit requirements when registering with Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW).
The Government has also updated annual returns regulations so non‑local authority providers must confirm their not‑for‑profit status each year.
Funding is being made available - £75m up to March 2028 – to help local authorities make these changes, with capital funding also available where needed.
The Welsh Government – the first in the UK to make the changes – warned that providers of children’s care homes, fostering services, and secure accommodation who wish to register new services or vary their registration to add additional services or places, must submit their application to CIW by 31 March 2026 to be assessed under current legislation.
From 1 April 2026, only local authorities and not-for-profit providers will be able to register.
After this date all restricted children’s services will have a declaration added to their service record confirming that ‘This is a restricted children’s service’.
The provider record will also show one of two statements indicating whether the service is exempt from, or compliant with, the not-for-profit requirements.