Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of the enforcement of Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (Duty of Candour) at independent sector providers delivering NHS funded care; and how many enforcement actions the Care Quality Commission has taken in respect of Regulation 20 at such providers in each of the last three years.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not centrally record whether providers are delivering National Health Service funded care, so cannot identify Regulation 20 duty of candour breaches by those independent providers.

In the last three years, the CQC has suspended the registration of one independent healthcare organisation for breaches of Regulation 20. The CQC has also requested action plans from two independent healthcare organisations for breaches of Regulation 20.

All providers of NHS funded care must comply with the NHS Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 in their complaints handling arrangements. This includes the requirement to advise a complainant of their right to refer their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) if they are dissatisfied with the response to their complaint. It is the role of the PHSO to independently investigate complaints that NHS and NHS-funded organisations have not acted properly or fairly.

While it is not the role of the CQC to enforce the complaints regulations, it does assess whether registered providers have effective arrangements for receiving, handling, and responding to complaints as part of its regulatory role, and may take action where providers fail to meet the relevant regulatory requirements.