The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced that it will replace the current star ratings for registered care services (care homes, home care and nursing agencies, adult placement schemes) before the introduction of the new registration system and new standards for health and social care services on the 1st October. 

Cynthia Bower, CQC’s chief executive, said: “From 1 October, we will have new standards and a new registration system, so it makes sense to develop a new way to compare quality across adult social care services.

“We want to work with the sector to develop a fair and transparent system. We are very open to different ideas and will be calling on people to tell us how they think it should work.

“Although the current quality rating system will stop, we will still be conducting inspections and publishing information about standards of care.

“Our biggest priority right now is introducing the new registration system that, for the first time, will bring NHS, independent healthcare and adult social care under the same system of regulation. This is a big task and we want to make sure that it goes as smoothly as possible.

“We are also committed to providing clear, useful and fair information about standards in adult social care services. This is extremely important for people making choices about services, as well as for councils that are commissioning services.”