Healthcare & Social Care Wales

Meet RISCA 2016 compliance requirements for care services in Wales

How to meet the ongoing compliance requirements under the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 and the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, including Statement of Purpose, governance, staffing, service user engagement, and complaints handling.

On this page

Related guides in Compliance & Legal

CIW inspection preparation checklist

Verification checklist for CIW inspection readiness. Covers Statement of Purpose, Responsible Individual duties, staff qualifications and Social Care …

Once you are registered with CIW, you must maintain ongoing compliance with the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017. These regulations set out detailed requirements covering governance, staffing, care delivery, premises, and accountability.

This guide covers the key compliance areas you must address as a registered service provider in Wales.

Statement of Purpose

Every registered service must have a current Statement of Purpose. This is a living document that must be reviewed whenever there are changes to how the service operates and updated at least annually.

Governance and accountability

  1. 1

    1. Ensure your Responsible Individual meets their duties

    The RI must visit the service at least every three months (regulation 73) and produce a written report on the quality of care. They must also review the quality of care every six months (regulation 80), consulting service users, their representatives, and staff. The review report must be available to CIW on request.

  2. 2

    2. Maintain the service manager's fitness

    Ensure your service manager is registered with Social Care Wales (or working towards registration), has up-to-date DBS checks, and undertakes continuing professional development. Notify CIW within 28 days of any change of manager.

  3. 3

    3. Establish robust policies and procedures

    Maintain written policies covering at minimum: safeguarding, complaints, medication management, infection prevention and control, health and safety, data protection, whistleblowing, and Welsh language provision. Review each policy at least annually.

  4. 4

    4. Implement a complaints procedure

    Your complaints procedure must be accessible to service users and their representatives. As good practice, aligned with the local authority social services complaints procedure, acknowledge complaints within 2 working days and provide a full written response within 20 working days — RISCA itself does not prescribe these timescales. Keep a complaints log and use patterns to drive improvement.

  5. 5

    5. Ensure service user engagement

    Involve service users in decisions about their care. Maintain a personal plan for each individual, reviewed at least every three months. Seek feedback regularly and evidence how it influences service delivery.

  6. 6

    6. Submit required notifications and returns

    Notify CIW of notifiable events including deaths, serious injuries, safeguarding concerns, absences of the manager or RI, and any event that may affect the service's ability to deliver care. Submit your annual return to CIW by the required deadline.

Staffing requirements

The 2017 Regulations require you to ensure sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, and experienced staff at all times. Key staffing obligations include:

  • Safe recruitment: DBS checks, references, proof of identity, right to work checks, and verification of qualifications before staff begin work
  • Induction and training: All staff must complete an induction programme and receive ongoing mandatory training including safeguarding, health and safety, infection control, and Welsh language awareness
  • Supervision and appraisal: Regular formal supervision and annual appraisals for all staff
  • Social Care Wales registration: Staff in registrable roles must register with Social Care Wales within the required timescale

What next

To prepare for CIW inspections against these requirements, see CIW inspection preparation checklist. For workforce registration details, see Social Care Wales workforce registration.