Care Quality Commission

What Care Quality Commission does

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, established in 2009 under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. It is a non-departmental public body funded through UK parliamentary supply, with statutory powers to register, inspect, rate, and enforce standards across care homes, NHS and independent hospitals, dental services, GP surgeries, mental health services, homecare agencies, and community health providers. Its remit was materially expanded by the Health and Care Act 2022 to include assessment of Integrated Care Systems and English local authorities' delivery of adult social care responsibilities under the Care Act 2014.

CQC operates a digital regulatory platform built around four core product surfaces: a public Service Search and Comparison Portal with published inspection reports and a four-point rating scale (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate); a Provider Portal for registration, statutory notifications, and regulatory communications; a Give Feedback on Care mechanism for public concerns; and an internal Data and Insight Unit running an Enterprise Data Platform that ingests NHS Digital datasets (HES, community health, mental health, mortality, Mental Health Act data) alongside mandatory provider notifications to drive risk-based regulation. The 2021 Single Assessment Framework replaced fixed on-site inspection cycles with ongoing, multi-method assessment, and the organisation is targeting completion of over 9,000 assessments by end of September 2026.

CQC's business model is non-commercial: it does not charge the public for regulatory services and operates under government mandate rather than market competition. The organisation employs approximately 3,066 staff (as of 31 March 2022), is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne with offices across England, and is currently undergoing leadership and structural change - Emily Miles was appointed Chief Executive on 16 July 2026, the Operations and Regulatory Leadership directorates are being merged under four Chief Inspectors, and the organisation has explicitly framed its current phase as 'rebuilding foundations' following an externally commissioned operational effectiveness review.

Name

Care Quality Commission

Legal name

Care Quality Commission

Website

https://cqc.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Care Quality Commission is the independent statutory regulator of health and adult social care in England, rating and inspecting care homes, hospitals, GPs, dentists, mental health, homecare, and community services, and now assessing Integrated Care Systems and local authorities under the Health and Care Act 2022.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health and Social Care Regulation

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615), Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Quality & Patient Safety Regulators (HLAJACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare Compliance & Enforcement Authorities (HLAJACAB), Regulatory Compliance, Licensing & Enforcement (Public Health) (HLAJAMAE)

Keywords

• Health and social care regulation
• Care quality inspection
• Provider registration services
• Regulatory ratings database
• Safeguarding oversight

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: CQC is a non-departmental public body funded by the UK Government through parliamentary supply. As the independent regulator established by the Health and Social Care Act 2008, it does not generate commercial revenue but operates under government mandate to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of people using health and social care services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, established under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. It registers, inspects, and rates providers across care homes, hospitals, dental services, GP practices, mental health services, homecare agencies, and community services, publishing inspection reports and ratings on a four-point scale (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate). It also assesses local authorities and integrated care systems, processes statutory notifications and whistleblower disclosures, and takes enforcement action to protect people using regulated services.

Product overview

Care Quality Commission operates a unified regulatory platform providing public access to health and social care service information. The core offering combines a Service Search and Comparison Portal with Inspection Reports and Ratings, enabling the public to find, compare, and assess care providers. Supporting products include a Provider Portal for registration and notifications, a Give Feedback on Care mechanism for public concerns, the annual State of Care Report for national oversight, and a Notifications System for statutory reporting. Additional capabilities include a Data and Insight Unit leveraging advanced analytics, information on AI in health and social care, and a CQC Widget for providers to embed ratings externally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Service Search and Comparison Portal Public-facing web portal enabling users to search for and compare regulated health and social care services across England, with each listing showing the latest inspection report and quality rating.
• Inspection Reports and Ratings System Regulatory system that publishes inspection findings and quality ratings on a four-point scale (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate) covering safety, effectiveness, caring, responsiveness, and leadership for each regulated service.
• Provider Portal Secure online portal for registered providers to submit statutory notifications, update registration details, access assessment information, and communicate with CQC.
• Give Feedback on Care Public-facing channel for sharing experiences of health and social care services and reporting concerns about care quality, unregistered services, or safety issues.
• State of Care Annual Report Annual national overview publication assessing the quality of health and adult social care in England, identifying trends, examples of good practice, and areas requiring improvement.
• Provider Registration System Statutory registration system for health and adult social care providers to carry on regulated activities, including application processing, DBS checks, and maintenance of the public register of providers and managers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,919 qualifying disclosures processed from workers in 2023/24, informing regulatory risk assessment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• National Guardian's Office (NGO) - TransitionmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026Until 30 June 2026, CQC hosted the National Guardian's Office for the Freedom to Speak Up. From 1 July 2026, CQC will continue to securely hold personal data contained in NGO records for lawful and necessary purposes including handling complaints, statutory information access requests, audit, and supporting Public Inquiries.
• NHS DigitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC receives comprehensive health data from NHS Digital including community health data, emergency care data, Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), maternity data, mental health services data, and ONS mortality data. This data enables CQC to monitor quality of care, compare death rates, identify infection rates, and check appropriate use of the Mental Health Act.
• Healthwatch EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthwatch England is hosted by CQC and follows the same rules and policies on processing personal data. Healthwatch represents the consumer champion for health and social care, working alongside CQC's regulatory functions.
• Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMNSI programme is hosted by CQC and follows the same rules and policies on processing personal data. MNSI conducts independent investigations into serious cases of harm to mothers and babies.
• Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDHSC is CQC's sponsor department. CQC shares information with DHSC for monitoring purposes and alignment with government priorities including the 10 Year Health Plan. DHSC commissioned the review by Dr Penny Dash into CQC's operational effectiveness.
• Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC shares information with GIAA as part of government audit and assurance processes to ensure CQC is working effectively.
• Experts by ExperiencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExperts by Experience are people who work with CQC inspection teams and have direct experience of health and social care services. They bring lived experience to inspections and help gather perspectives from people who use services.
• Mental Health Act ReviewerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMental Health Act Reviewers work with CQC inspection teams to review cases where people's rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act, ensuring proper safeguards are in place.
• Specialist AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialist Advisors are not employees of CQC but work with inspection teams to provide expert clinical and professional input during assessments of health and social care services.
• The King's FundmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC has worked with The King's Fund on its regulatory model, including collaboration on understanding effective regulation and system-focused engagement approaches.
• Alliance Manchester Business School (University of Manchester)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned research on CQC's impact on quality of care, evaluating the relationship between CQC's regulatory approach and improvement in health and social care quality. Also conducted rapid literature review on effective regulation.
• National VoicesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC commissioned research from National Voices into people's experience of hospital discharge processes, informing understanding of patient journeys and system integration.
• NHS Race and Health ObservatorymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC joined 8 other national health and social care regulators in signing up to shared principles for advancing workforce race equity in health and social care.
• Local AuthoritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC works with local authorities for safeguarding referrals, coordination on care concerns, and assessment of local authority performance in adult social care under the Care Act 2014.
• PolicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC may share confidential personal information with police when necessary to protect people from harm or when a crime has been committed.
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQC may make referrals to DBS or professional regulators when fitness concerns are identified about registered persons or staff at care services.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Care Inspectorate (Scotland): Statutory regulator of care services in Scotland with a comparable inspection, rating and registration model. Highly comparable to CQC in function but operates in a separate UK jurisdiction with no overlap in regulated providers.
• Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW): Independent Welsh government inspectorate and regulator of healthcare and independent healthcare providers. Directly comparable mandate (inspection, review, registration) to CQC but limited to Wales.
• Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA): Northern Ireland's health and social care regulation body, responsible for inspecting and reviewing the quality and availability of health and social care services. Closest functional analogue to CQC within the UK family.
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland: Scottish organisation with overlapping scrutiny, improvement and inspection functions across health and social care. Comparable in regulatory philosophy and methodology, though scoped to Scotland.

Broad incumbents

• NHS England: Oversees performance of NHS providers and works closely with CQC on system-level quality oversight. Operates an overlapping but distinct quality-assurance role for NHS-funded services in England.
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE): UK regulator for workplace health and safety, including in healthcare settings. Comparable as a UK-wide statutory enforcement body with inspection and prosecution powers relevant to care environments.
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA): UK regulator of medicines, medical devices and blood components. Comparable as a UK government health regulator with statutory enforcement powers, though focused on products rather than service providers.

Direct peers

• General Medical Council (GMC): UK-wide statutory regulator of doctors, with parallel registration, fitness-to-practise, and revalidation functions. Comparable as a health professional regulator that CQC works alongside on workforce and fitness concerns.
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC): UK statutory regulator for nurses and midwives, with similar registration and fitness-to-practise powers. A natural regulatory peer to CQC for the workforce dimension of regulated care services.

Others

• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS): UK body that processes criminal record checks and barred-list referrals. CQC makes referrals to DBS for fitness concerns, making it an adjacent enforcement ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/carequalitycomm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/cqcdigitalcomms
• Facebookfacebook.com/carequalitycommission
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/care-quality-commission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Care Quality Commission