On 9 September 2025, Kent County Council confirmed that it has formally asked the government to strengthen how the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates and supports care services in the county. This move matters to anyone who relies on home care in Kent – and to the providers, like Health and Social Ltd, who are working hard every day to deliver safe, high-quality support in people’s own homes.
Why Kent Is Calling for Action
Kent’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, asking for urgent steps to make sure CQC regulation keeps pace with the reality on the ground. The message is simple:
Inspection ratings need to be accurate and up to date.
The system must be fair, transparent, and trusted.
Families deserve clear information about the quality of care.
The council has highlighted that care providers in Kent are operating under intense pressure – from workforce challenges and rising costs to increasing complexity of people’s needs. When inspection cycles are delayed or data systems don’t reflect recent improvements, it can create a distorted picture of a provider’s quality. That harms everyone:
Families may be put off from using a service that has actually improved.
Providers can find it harder to recruit and retain staff.
Investors and commissioners may hesitate to back services that are, in reality, doing good work. Kent County Council News
The CQC Review – A Push for Better Regulation
The letter also welcomes the recent independent review into the CQC’s work, led by Dr Penny Dash.
Dr Penny Dash – Image NHS ENGLAND
That review has suggested several important changes, including:
Ensuring inspectors have the right specialist knowledge for the services they oversee.
Making sure inspections happen consistently and in a timely way.
Improving the information systems that sit behind ratings and public reports.
For families, that translates into something very practical: when you look up a service online, the rating and report should reflect what’s happening now, not a snapshot from years ago.
A Call for Joint Working
Kent County Council has asked for a meeting between:
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Kent County Council
The CQC
Representatives from Kent’s care sector, including providers
The aim is to sit around the same table and co-design practical solutions, rather than leaving providers and families struggling with outdated or incomplete information.
The message from the council is clear: Kent’s care providers are resilient and committed, but they need confidence that the regulatory system is fair, responsive, and genuinely supportive of high-quality care.
What This Means for Home Care at Health and Social Ltd
As a CQC-registered domiciliary care provider, Health and Social Ltd fully supports the call for a regulatory system that is:
Accurate – so inspection ratings reflect the real standard of care we provide.
Timely – so improvements and innovations in our service are recognised without years of delay.
Consistent – so families can compare services based on clear and reliable information.
We know that for many families, the first step in choosing home care is to look up a provider’s CQC rating. That is absolutely right – regulation is there to protect people. But we also know that ratings can sometimes lag behind reality, especially in a fast-moving sector where teams are constantly improving training, systems, and ways of working.
At Health and Social Ltd, we:
Invest in ongoing training and supervision so that our carers can safely support people with complex needs at home.
Use clear care plans and digital systems to keep information up to date and shared appropriately with families and professionals.
Welcome open dialogue with inspectors, commissioners, and families, because transparency builds trust.
A stronger, more responsive regulatory system would help us showcase that work more clearly – and give families extra reassurance when they’re making difficult decisions about care.
Why This Matters to Families in Kent (and Beyond)
If you’re a son, daughter, partner, or friend trying to arrange care at home, this discussion about CQC and regulation can feel very technical. But behind the policy language, this is really about three simple things:
Safety – knowing your loved one is being cared for by people who are properly checked, trained, and supervised.
Quality – having confidence that the service is well led, well organised, and responsive when something changes.
Clarity – being able to trust the information you see online and the conversations you have with providers.
Kent’s call for action is ultimately about making those three things stronger and more reliable.
Our Commitment as a Local Home Care Provider
Health and Social Ltd is committed to playing a constructive role in this conversation. As the regulatory framework evolves, we will:
Keep aligning our practice with the highest standards set out by CQC.
Continue to listen to families and clients, using their feedback to improve what we do.
Stay engaged with local developments in Kent and the wider region, so we can respond quickly to changes in expectations or guidance.
Regulation alone does not create good care – people do. But a strong, fair, and up-to-date regulatory system makes it much easier for good providers to thrive, and for families to find services they can truly trust.
If you’re exploring home care in Kent and want to understand how we work, our approach to quality, or what our current CQC status means in practice, we’re always happy to talk it through with you.
Source Kent County Council News