The Care Quality Commission has appointed Emily Miles as its new Chief Executive. Emily joins from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where she serves as Director General for Food, Farming and Biosecurity, and will take up the role in autumn 2026. She succeeds interim Chief Executive Dr Arun Chopra, who returns to his substantive role as Chief Inspector of Mental Health.
Emily brings significant regulatory experience, including a previous role as Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency, where she oversaw food safety and consumer protection across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Her appointment follows a recruitment process led by Interim Chair Kay Boycott, involving non-executive board members, stakeholder representatives and Baroness Julia Neuberger, the government's preferred candidate for CQC Chair.
The Homecare Association welcomes the appointment and looks forward to engaging with Emily as she takes up the role. CQC faces a substantial challenge in restoring confidence across the sector, and as our Unseen and Unrated report set out last month, more than four in five community social care services in England currently carry no current CQC rating. Strong, stable leadership at CQC matters for the people who draw on care and for the providers who deliver it.
