The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the main regulator of health and social care quality in England. In 2023, it introduced several changes to its approach including a single assessment framework, a new IT platform and different ways of working. CQC is currently rebuilding its regulatory model following several reviews that were critical of its approach.

An evaluation will be developed that will support this work. This report shares findings from the first scoping phase of the evaluation which included a review of evidence, interviewing of experts and engagement with CQC staff to understand what good regulation looks like. It identified five challenges CQC are facing where evidence could help. 

There are five learning points for CQC as it develops and implements its future model.

1. Make sure the purpose of regulation, and its impacts, are central to the design of the regulatory model.
2. Clearly communicate the thinking behind the regulatory model including how regulatory interventions like registration and inspection are intended to affect organisations, patients and users.
3. There is a lot of existing evidence CQC can draw on to inform the design of the future regulatory model, and it is important that any learning is thoughtfully adapted to its context.
4. Invest in regulatory staff and support them to develop and maintain sector-specific, regulatory and relational expertise. For a regulator and its workforce, how you do it matters as much as what you do.
5. Make sure testing and evaluation is central to the rollout of the regulatory model. A culture of learning is vital to support ongoing development of the model and provide evidence on its impact.