Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the written answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 4 June, what plans they have to establish a system to record deaths in supported accommodation which is not registered with CQC and does not fall within the definition of personal care.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, providers of supported accommodation must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) if they carry out the regulated activity of ‘personal care’. The Government does not have plans to establish a system to record deaths in supported accommodation that is not registered with the CQC.

However, all supported accommodation providers must comply with their existing legal duties, including meeting the relevant standards for the quality of accommodation.

The local authority must carry out safeguarding enquiries if an adult has care and support needs, whether or not these are being met by the local authority, and is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect and, as a result of those needs is unable to protect himself or herself from the abuse or neglect or the risk of it. This also applies to accommodation that is not registered with the CQC.

Safeguarding adults boards must also arrange safeguarding adults reviews in cases where an adult has died or experienced serious harm and there are concerns about how agencies worked together, helping to identify lessons to apply to future cases to prevent deaths or serious harm occurring again.

More broadly, the Government’s Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 provides a strong and robust framework which aims to ensure that all residents receive good quality support in good quality accommodation. Under this legislation, housing providers will need to apply for a licence for their supported housing schemes in each local authority, pass a fit and proper person test, and meet several conditions, including complying with the National Supported Housing Standards.

The Government takes the quality and safety of all supported housing very seriously and we are committed to keeping these regulatory arrangements under review to ensure they are effective in preventing avoidable deaths.