Ceredigion County Council website

Welsh Government consultation: Proposals for Regulations for direct payments in health and social care.

The Welsh Government is seeking your views on proposals for Regulations for direct payments in health and social care.

Part One of the consultation asks about views on proposed amendments to the Local Health Boards (Directed Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2009 which will delegate functions to Local Health Boards to make direct payments on behalf of Welsh Ministers.

Part Two of the consultation asks about:

1. Views on proposed content of Regulations for direct payments for health care.
2. Views on how guidance can complement and add to Regulations for those operating or in receipt of direct payments for health care.

Part Three of the consultation asks about views on proposed amendments to the Regulations (and relevant code of practice, as necessary) governing direct payments in social care in respect of a nominated third party being able to administer the payments on behalf of a recipient.

The consultation opens on Wednesday 16 July 2025 and will close on Wednesday 8 October 2025.

Consultation documents and detail on how to respond are available on the Welsh Government website at: Proposed regulations for direct payments in health and social care | GOV.WALES

Direct Payments Policy Team

Cymru Older People Alliance (COPA)

Cymru Older People Alliance (COPA) is an independent charity in Wales run by older people for older people.

Here is their Summer 2025 Bulletin.

2025 Engagement and Participation

We are revising our current Engagement and Participation Policy and we want your views about what should be included in the updated policy.

Everyone who lives or works in Ceredigion will make use of some council services, including its staff. These could be the roads, schools, libraries or bin collections. It is important that we ask for your views when we make changes to the way that we do things.

For further information visit our 2025 Engagement and Participation page.

Older People's Commissioner for Wales

I am pleased to share my latest report, which draws upon a wide range of available research to examine people’s experiences of growing older without children and the kinds of action required to ensure the needs of all older people are better reflected across policy, planning and public service delivery.

You can read the report on the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, Research into people's experiences of growing older without children page.

The report highlights that growing older without children can bring many benefits, including strong social lives and connections with friends, neighbours, and community organisations; opportunities to build rich, diverse support networks and engage in community activities and volunteering; and financial stability.

However, people without children can also feel invisible, marginalised and ignored during discussions about ageing within a family-orientated society.

The report also finds that many policies and services assume the presence of some form of family support, which can create barriers in terms of accessing services and support.

In addition, people growing older without children may also find themselves at greater risk of issues that can affect our ability to age well.

The report sets out why action is needed to address policy and legislation that is largely inadequate in responding to the specific needs of people growing older without children, highlighting the importance of more targeted interventions, improvements to social support and innovative approaches to delivering care which build upon good practice that is already being piloted and delivered.

We are seeing a significant demographic shift in terms of the number of people growing older without children, something that is expected to increase significantly in the years ahead.

It is therefore crucial that policy- and decision-makers respond effectively to these changes to ensure that regardless of our circumstances we can access the services and support we may need as we grow older and have opportunities to live and age well.

I hope that the report and its findings will support your work and help to ensure that policies and services across Wales better reflect the needs of people growing older without children. If you would like to discuss the report in more detail, please contact my office.

I will be holding a webinar event later this year to examine the evidence within the report in more detail, hear from older people about their own experiences of growing older without children and explore practical ways to tackle the issues identified. Further details about the webinar will be shared soon and I hope you will be able to join us.

By working together, we can create policies, services and communities that are inclusive, fit for the future and recognise the needs of all older people.