Guide
The responsible individual: the role at the centre of CIW registration
Updated
Wales built its regime around a named person who answers for the service. Get the responsible individual wrong and the application does not proceed, whatever else is in the pack.
What the Act requires
Section 6 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 requires a person who wants to provide a regulated service to apply to the Welsh Ministers specifying the regulated service, specifying the places at, from or in relation to which the service is to be provided, and designating an individual as the responsible individual in respect of each place. The designation is part of the application itself, not an afterthought once you are registered.
What CIW asks the responsible individual to produce
- A current DBS certificate
- CIW states that all responsible individuals and individual applicants must have a current DBS certificate, either signed up to the update service and able to provide their details, or a certificate no older than three months at the time of submission.
- A medical reference
- CIW requires responsible individuals to have a medical reference and to upload it with the application. It publishes separate medical reference templates for responsible individuals and for individual providers.
- A place, or several
- The designation is per place the service is provided at, from or in relation to. A provider with several locations is designating for each one, which is a staffing decision as much as a paperwork one.
A responsible individual application on its own, for example when the role changes at an existing service, is given a 6 week timescale by CIW. Plan handovers against that, not against a resignation date.
Related offences worth knowing about
- Section 5: it is an offence to provide a regulated service without being registered in respect of that service.
- Section 44: it is an offence to, with intent to deceive another, pretend to be a service provider, pretend that a place is one at, from or in relation to which a regulated service is provided, or pretend to be a responsible individual.
- Sections 45 and 46 let Welsh Ministers make regulations creating offences for a service provider, or a responsible individual, failing to comply with specified requirements.
What it means for cost
The responsible individual is why CIW registration in Wales is expensive in a way that never appears as a fee. You are securing a person with the standing to hold the role, obtaining their checks and medical reference, and often paying them through a 14 week wait during which the service cannot trade. See the published timescales and what CIW wants before you apply.