CQC update: What we’re doing to improve
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CQC Update: Progress on Rebuilding Regulation
Good regulation matters. It protects the people we support, gives families confidence, and helps care providers focus on what really matters — delivering safe, high-quality care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has admitted it has work to do, and its August update shows how it’s starting to rebuild trust and improve regulation.
More assessments, steady progress
By 11 August 2025, CQC had completed 2,108 assessments – keeping on track to meet its ambitious target of 9,000 assessments by September 2026. For adult social care providers, this means timelier reports and more up-to-date information about service quality.
Working in partnership
CQC has been engaging widely with providers, the public and stakeholders through events and workshops. These sessions are shaping proposals for a new assessment approach, including:
Reducing and simplifying quality statements.
Tailoring frameworks to each sector (e.g. adult social care, hospitals, mental health).
Improving how judgements are made and kept up to date.
A formal consultation will take place this autumn, with the aim of creating a simpler, more effective, and more trusted system.
Strengthening leadership
CQC is moving back to sector-focused inspection teams, led by four new Chief Inspectors. Two are already in post – Prof Bola Owolabi (Primary & Community Services) and Dr Arun Chopra (Mental Health) – while Dr Toli Onon (Hospitals) and Chris Badger (Adult Social Care & Integrated Care) start in September.
CQC is also expanding its senior expertise with new roles in digital, data, registration, finance, and corporate services, alongside new Board appointments.
What this means for social care: CQC is making steady progress – more inspections, stronger leadership, and a new framework shaped with providers.
It’s still early days, but if these changes land well, regulation could start to feel less like a box-ticking exercise and more like genuine support for quality care.