Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for self-employed carers to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

The Department has understood that the term ‘self-employed carer’ refers to self-employed personal assistants. There are no current plans to introduce a requirement for self-employed carers to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Currently, a person, or a related third party on their behalf, can make their own arrangement for personal care where an individual works directly for that person and under their control, without involving an agency or employer in managing or directing the care provided. In this case, the individual engaged does not need to register with the CQC for the regulated activity of personal care.