Ellis to lead advice group on new Welsh care body

An independent ministerial group, led by Sally Ellis, will be providing advice on a new national Institute of Care and Support, Deputy Minister for Social Services Gwenda Thomas has announced.

Sally Ellis, who chairs the Strategic Improvement Steering Group, was the corporate director for Denbighshire County Council and the local government representative for the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board of Directors.

The new Institute, which will build on and extend the functions of the Care Council for Wales, will be established through the Welsh Government’s forthcoming Regulation and Inspection of Social Services Bill, which will reform the approach to regulation and inspection in Wales.

The Bill will set in place a people-centred approach to regulation, ensuring that people can judge services not on a set of minimum standards, but on real outcomes for citizens. It will promote excellence through workforce regulation, professional development and service improvement.

Gwenda Thomas said: “I can confirm today that I have asked Sally Ellis and her Group to provide me with advice on how to take forward the new national Institute of Care and Support to develop a more professional workforce and to deliver service improvement. Sally’s group represents Wales’ leading experts in our sector, and I am keen to hear from them on how we can move forward.   The Institute is an important and significant step, and I want the best possible advice about its future.

“This Institute will not be born in a vacuum. It will build upon the fine work of the Care Council for Wales following more than a decade of success. That success has given us the confidence to establish the Institute with broader functions and more resources that will promote the professionalisation of the workforce and provide a key resource in our ongoing service improvement agenda.”