From 1 April 2023 we'll have new powers that allow us to provide a meaningful and independent assessment of care at a local authority and integrated care system level.
When assessing local authorities and integrated care systems, we'll use our new single assessment framework. Although we’ll use this in the same way as when assessing providers, the approach will be tailored carefully to their specific context.
Local authority assessments
We've set out the timeline for implementing our approach to local authority assessments, beginning in April 2023. This will start with reviewing data and published documentary evidence across all local authorities. We will not publish this data and evidence at individual local authority level. We will instead use our independent voice to publish it at an overall national level as a collection of evidence.
We also intend to start a limited number of pilot assessments from April. These will cover up to 5 local authorities between April and September 2023. From September we plan to complete an initial formal assessment for all local authorities to establish a starting point. We will therefore start formal assessments in September, and aim to carry out up to 20 assessments between September and December. From early 2024 we plan to continue to carry out further formal assessments and report our findings.
More information on the timeline and approach can be found on our website.
We've also published our draft interim guidance for assessing local authorities. The guidance we are publishing today is currently subject to government approval as required by the Health and Care Act 2022.
Integrated care system assessments
We also want to start assessing integrated care systems and are currently working with and seeking approval from the Department of Health and Social Care on our approach to implement these assessments. We'll publish more on this approach, and our guidance on how we will assess integrated care systems using our single assessment framework, as soon as possible.
We'll start using our new regulatory approach for individual health and social care providers later in 2023. You can find more detail on the new approach and when it will be implemented on our website.
 If you're working within a local authority or integrated care system and would like to get further updates from us about this work, please register your interest to be added to the mailing list.
 This Summer we’ll launch our new online provider portal. We’ll do this is in stages and provide support and guidance. In the first stage:
- providers will be able to submit statutory notifications
- we’ll improve how our enforcement process works.
To make sure the new portal meets your needs we'll be developing and testing new features in partnership with health and social care providers.
As part of this development we'd like your views on the following questions:
- How can we ensure the portal meets the needs of providers with multiple users, locations and devices?
- What features/functions would make the provider portal useful to you?
- How can we make sure the provider portal can integrate with any systems providers already use?
 CQC user researchers look at how people use websites and systems (like ‘Notify CQC’ or ‘Give Feedback on Care’) so we can improve them. Currently, our focus is on Regulatory Transformation services, and making sure they’ll work for you when released.
We’d like to particularly target providers rated requires improvement or inadequate.
We are looking to discuss:
- prototype testing of a ‘factual accuracy checker’ (within the next two weeks)
- prototype testing of ‘registration cancellation’ (within the next week)
- your experience of using the provider portal (within the next week)
If this is something you’d like to take part in, you can:
- contact the User Research team, letting us know your job title and which research you’d like to take part in
- Sign up to our User Research Panel. We contact people on this panel with research opportunities that are suitable.
 In the latest episode of CQC Connect, you can hear from CQC's Chris Day, Director of Engagement, Joyce Frederick, Director of Policy and Strategy, and Mark Sutton, Chief Digital Officer.
They discuss how CQC is realising its strategic ambitions by developing a new regulatory approach, taking on new powers at a system level and improving how we collect and use data.
You can find all our podcasts on most major platforms, and don't forget to subscribe for the latest episodes.
 There are ongoing opportunities to shape how CQC works on our digital engagement platform CitizenLab.
Sign up now to access these opportunities when they're available.
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