Financial Times covers Homecare Association’s research on CQC inspection backlog

The Financial Times has covered our research into the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection backlog, first published in June. This brings national attention to the gap in regulatory oversight of homecare.

What we found

Using CQC data to 5 May 2026, our analysis showed that:

• 36.9% of community social care locations had no rating
• 46.6% had a rating between four and ten years old
• Overall, 83.5% of community social care locations had no rating or a rating published four or more years ago, compared with nearly 70% in residential care

Some members have waited more than five years for their first inspection, and others more than seven years for a subsequent inspection.

Why it matters

Community social care locations now outnumber residential social care locations, and Skills for Care data shows 725,000 filled posts in domiciliary care compared with 715,000 in residential care. Yet homecare faces the larger inspection gap.

An absent or an old rating does not mean that a service provides poor care. It means that people choosing care lack a current, independent assessment, and providers delivering excellent care miss out on timely recognition. With the government aiming to support more people at home, homecare must sit at the centre of reform plans, including the capacity to regulate it effectively.

What we are doing

We welcome the CQC’s progress in increasing assessments. Clearing the backlog, however, needs more inspectors on the ground and systems that work. We continue to urge the government to provide temporary funding to speed up that recovery.

Read more

• Read the FT article (limited free access)
• Read our original research

If your service has waited a long time for an inspection, we are keen to hear from you. Contact [email protected].