This month we were very interested in the Department of Health and Social Care’s review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The review’s summary of findings chimes with our own experience and view that it was inevitable that a new Labour government would want to look closely at the performance of CQC which they established over 15 years ago.

Although the plans for a National Care Service remain hazy (and are likely to stay this way for some time to come) there was a clear manifesto commitment to new national standards.

CQC has struggled in the last few years, not really recovering its confidence and authority - much of which was lost during the Covid-19 pandemic. Effective and proportionate regulation of complex human services is always going to be a challenge but it’s now clear that the government would like to see a new sort of regulator which will inevitably mean change and possibly a shifting of some responsibilities to other agencies.

Although there will be a period of disruption and uncertainty, the possibility to redesign the regulation of health and social care fit for the future must be welcomed and embraced.