CQC’s board meeting on 17 September included some encouraging updates on registration and assessment activity. The latest figures indicate that progress is being made in reducing backlogs, improving registration performance and increasing the number of assessments completed.
This headway is taking place during a period of continued organisational and regulatory change. After a number of significant resignations and retirements, Chris Day, CQC’s Director of Engagement and longest serving member of the board, has announced his resignation after 15 years with the CQC. Whilst his contribution will be missed, the sector will be watching how the new leadership team continues to embed CQC’s recovery, with Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE taking up the role of Chair in October and Emily Miles as Chief Executive.
In terms of recovery, registration appears to be moving in the right direction. Whilst quarter-one figures showed significant underperformance, with only 68% of registrations were completed within 10 weeks against an 80% target, this has subsequently risen to 74.8%. The latest figures delivered by board confirmed that 84% of registrations had now been completed within the timeframe, demonstrating continued commitment to increased activity.
There has also been encouraging progress in processing older applications. At the start of the year, around 1,000 applications had been waiting for more than 10 weeks to be processed. By the time of the Board meeting, this had fallen to 120, representing a significant reduction in the backlog.
There was positive news on assessments, too. CQC set a target of delivering 9,000 assessments by September 2026 and had reached just under 8,500 by the end of the first quarter. It has since surpassed that target, with 10,328 assessments delivered by the week of the Board meeting.
The pace of activity has increased over the same period. In April 2025, CQC was completing around 450 assessments a month. More recently, this has been closer to 800. The Return to Good approach will be contributing to this increase by focusing activity on services with Good ratings and assessing a smaller number of relevant quality statements, meaning that inspections are more focused and the reports considerably shorter. At the end of June, the average completion time for an inspection was 31 days, compared with CQC’s target of 50 days. This suggests that the move towards shorter, more focused assessments is supporting faster regulatory activity and reporting.
The combination of increased assessment volumes, a significant reduction in the registration backlog and improvements in registration times suggests that the public and providers can be reassured that CQC is reaffirming its position. For providers, the overall message is clear: CQC is becoming more active, and for the public, they can once again be assured in the accuracy of judgements and ratings.
What does this mean for providers?
Whilst we can see positive performance in terms of registration activity, CQC has reported that more than half of applications were rejected in June. Whilst the more sceptical analyst may conclude that this increased scrutiny may be an attempt to decrease the backlog, nevertheless this is an important reminder for providers to submit accurate information. Supporting documentation must be reviewed, checked and validated as CQC’s validation and document checks become more rigorous. While stronger validation should help improve the quality of applications received, providers will need to ensure that applications are complete and accurate from the outset to avoid unnecessary delays.
In terms of inspections, services must be prepared, particularly those with older ratings. CQC is clearly increasing the pace of regulatory activity, and inspection priorities as well as the return to good framework all point to CQC prioritising providers with those aged ratings. For these services, this means checking that staff and leaders are up to date with the latest legislation, guidance, best practice and regulatory expectations, and that policies, governance arrangements and evidence reflect how the service operates today. Being able to evidence good practice today may be very different since the last inspection.