[7] In July 2024, the CQC was described as a "failing organisation" by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting,[8] in response to an interim report written by Penny Dash, who had been charged earlier in the year (by the previous Conservative government) with investigating the capacity and performance of the commission.

[10] Previous board members have included: In August 2013 the CQC stated that it was finding it difficult to meet their inspection target of GP practices and had therefore drafted in 'bank' inspectors and authorised staff overtime to deal with the backlog.

[20] In October 2014 Field announced that the commission was going to begin inspecting health systems across whole geographical areas from 2015, including social care and NHS 111.

[24] He also said the CQC would update its oversight in line with the growth of new provider models and would begin looking at care quality along pathways to a greater degree and, for the first time, across localities.

Hillier said "The fact these errors were picked up offers some reassurance, but this is clearly unacceptable from a public body in which taxpayers are placing their trust.

"[27] In July 2016 the commission issued an apology after admitting that up to 500 Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates submitted by applicants to become registered managers and providers had been lost during a planned office refurbishment; a locked filing cabinet had been incorrectly marked up to be taken away and destroyed.

[29] In October 2016, a briefing paper issued by the organisation stated that no directorate was meeting objectives for producing reports on time.

[30] Following the cyber attacks on NHS systems in May 2017 it was announced that the CQC will be asking probing questions to assess data security as part of its inspection process.

[32] In March 2018 the Public Accounts Committee reported that although the regulator had "improved significantly" there was "no room for complacency" in the organisation which had "persistent weaknesses and looming challenges".

Andrea Sutcliffe, acting chief executive of the CQC said that an urgent review was carried out when the issue was discovered and it was found that "none of these referrals contained information about immediate risk of severe harm to people".

[37] In August 2019 the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust was fined £80,000 as a result of a prosecution brought to court by the CQC.

[38] In September 2019 the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust stated their inspection by the CQC had become drawn out "due to availability of inspectors".

[39] In October 2019 Professor Ted Baker, the Chief Inspector of Hospitals at the CQC stated that "little progress" has been made on improving patient safety in the NHS over the last 20 years.

[42] It was subsequently announced on 16 March that routine inspections were being temporarily paused,[43] however the CQC continued to respond to concerns raised by staff.

[46] In March 2024, it was announced that psychotherapist Sue Evans, who was the first to raise concerns about Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust when she worked there in 2005, along with a parent of a fifteen-year-old, were challenging the CQC in the High Court over its decision to license the Gender Plus Hormone Clinic, accusing the CQC of breaching its statutory duties under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The people named were former CQC Chief Executive Cynthia Bower, deputy CEO Jill Finney and media manager Anna Jefferson.

[73] The Guardian newspaper reported on 19 June 2013 that Tim Farron MP had written to the Metropolitan Police asking them to investigate the alleged cover-up.

Private Eye reported in November 2015 that most of the 34 homes closed during Cynthia Bower's tenure after failing their inspection later reopened with a new name or under new ownership, but with similar problems.

[77] In April 2016, it was reported that 44% of care homes in the South East inspected over an 18-month period were rated as inadequate or requiring improvement.

[81] The care home Horncastle House was closed by CQC in September 2018 as an urgent enforcement action to protect residents.

[82] In November 2018 the CQC had rated 1% of adult social care providers as inadequate, 17% as requiring improvement, 79% as good and 3% as outstanding in that year.

[83] A 2021 review of 20 care homes in England found that a good or outstanding CQC rating was associated with a better quality of life for residents.

[84][85] Michelle Fenwick, the director of Heritage Healthcare Franchising, complained in December 2019 that the fees charged to home care providers, which are proposed to be based on the number of clients supported, were unfair and the service was poor.

It was exposed in a Panorama investigation into physical and psychological abuse suffered by people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour, first broadcast in 2011.

[89] Cynthia Bower, then the chief executive of the commission, resigned ahead of a critical government report in which Winterbourne View was cited.

[91] In April 2012 hidden camera footage was broadcast in a BBC Panorama exposé which showed an elderly woman being physically assaulted at Ash Court by a male carer and mistreated by four others.

Although the commission's primary function is to enforce national standards including safeguarding the vulnerable and "enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect" the CQC responded by stating that they "should not be criticised for failing to protect people from harm" and could not be expected to spot abuse "which often takes place behind closed doors.

An undercover investigation by the BBC Panorama programme found evidence that vulnerable clients with autism or learning difficulties were physically and verbally abused by staff.

The increase in fee levels has been criticised by the Registered Nursing Home Association (RNHA), Care England and the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG).