From 1 April 2026, Welsh kinship foster placements will run on a new timetable for visits and reviews. The Welsh Government has made the Fostering Panels and Care Planning (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 - Welsh Statutory Instrument 2026 No. 16 - signed on 23 January 2026 by Minister for Children and Social Care Dawn Bowden and published on legislation.gov.uk.

The changes centre on children placed with “connected persons” under section 81(6)(a) of the Social Services and Well‑being (Wales) Act 2014 - typically a relative, close friend or someone already known to the child. In plain terms, the rules recognise the different nature of family‑based care and adjust oversight accordingly.

Social workers’ visit schedules are reset. For connected‑person placements under section 81(6)(a), the responsible authority will set visit frequency after consulting the Independent Reviewing Officer and those involved in the placement (foster carer, parents and child as defined in the 2015 Regulations), with a cap of once every six months. Long‑term placements not made under section 81(6)(a) but intended to last until the young person is 18 move to a maximum interval of three months. All other cases remain on a six‑week cycle.

Case reviews also shift. Subsequent reviews must continue at intervals of no more than six months in most situations, but where a placement is made with a connected person under section 81(6)(a), the responsible authority can set a bespoke timetable after the same consultation, capped at once every twelve months.

The fostering panel rules are tidied up around who counts as part of a household. References to “members of a person’s household” will now include anyone living there under a placement or other arrangement with the local authority, clarifying who must be considered during assessments and reviews. The Schedule 1 heading also drops the words “and family” to reflect this cleaner definition.

Assessments of prospective foster carers are tightened and made more practical. With the applicant’s consent, Welsh fostering services must request previous assessments, the most recent review of approval and relevant records from the former provider - including where that provider is in England - and those requests must be made in writing. Providers are also expressly allowed to seek any other information they consider relevant to suitability.

A new duty speeds up information‑sharing between fostering services providers. When a Welsh provider receives a request for a reference or records, it must supply the information within 15 working days and cannot charge the requesting provider, unless another law prevents disclosure. This removes common delays when carers move between agencies.

Kinship applicants get a more tailored process. A new Part 3 of Schedule 1 spells out the information needed when the applicant is a relative, friend or other connected person - from family dynamics and cultural or linguistic background to lifestyle, caring commitments, capacity to keep the named child safe and the support or interventions that may be required.

This matters on our patch. Northern councils that often work across the North Wales border - think cross‑border families spanning Flintshire or Wrexham and neighbouring authorities in Cheshire or Merseyside - will need to map Welsh timelines against their own so kinship carers aren’t pulled into duplicative visits. The new 15‑day, no‑fee rule for Welsh providers should also make cross‑border checks faster when a child’s connections run both sides of the border.

Welsh local authorities now have a short runway to update guidance, case‑management systems and training. The consultation step with the Independent Reviewing Officer, the foster carer, parents and child should be clearly recorded when setting bespoke visit and review timetables for connected‑person placements, with review calendars reflecting the new twelve‑month ceiling.

For kinship carers, the changes should feel more proportionate in long‑term, settled arrangements, while retaining formal oversight at defined intervals. Applicants moving between providers should expect their consent to be sought for record‑sharing so previous reports can follow them, reducing repeat assessments.

Formally, these amendments update the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1818 W.261) and the Fostering Panels (Establishment and Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2018. The instrument was made on 23 January 2026 and comes into force on 1 April 2026. According to the Welsh Government, a Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and is available via its Health, Social Care and Early Years Group in Cardiff and published on gov.wales.