Welsh Government launches consultation on whether to maintain or suspend Coronavirus Act easement of duties to assess and meet needs for care and support

Views sought by 2 November 2020 following last week's House of Commons vote in favour of retaining the time-limited easement

The Welsh Government has launched a consultation on whether to maintain or suspend Coronavirus Act 2020 easement of local authority duties to assess and meet needs for care and support in Wales.

The consultation follows last week's House of Commons debate and vote in favour of renewing temporary provisions under Schedule 12 of the Act that relate to local authority duties (under the Care Act 2014 in England and under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 in Wales) to assess and meet care and support needs having been replaced with a power to meet those needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To assist its decision making on whether to suspend or retain the easement, the Welsh Government is seeking views through a consultation that includes the following questions -

• If retention of the easement is supported for a further time-limited period, is there a need for a three or six month review period?
• In all cases, whether supporting suspension or retention of the easement, what are the positive or adverse effects on people, including those with protected characteristics?
• Are there any potential unintended consequences if either option is supported, and how could these be mitigated?

NB - comments need to be submitted by 2 November 2020.

For more information, see Open Consultation: Coronavirus Act 2020 and social care in Wales from gov.wales