Hempsons CQC Q&A series: Prosecutions of health and social care providers in England

By Philippa Doyle | November 25, 2025

Last Updated on November 25, 2025

In this blog series, Philippa Doyle, Head of Social Care at Hempsons, answers the most common questions providers ask when dealing with the CQC.

There has been no major change in regulatory approach. While terminology and publication practices have changed, the fundamental approach CQC takes to enforcement has not significantly shifted.

Are there material changes providers should be aware of?

The latest CQC enforcement policy reflects changes made as of January 2025, setting out how the regulator addresses concerns about providers and individuals:

  • Requirement notices are now called action plans and the term ‘requirement notice’ has been replaced with ‘action plan’. Providers who are not meeting specific standards will now be required to submit an action plan, which details what improvements they will deliver against.
  • Enforcement actions will no longer be included in assessment reports. Any enforcement actions taken by CQC will not be included in assessment reports, so readers will not see references to these actions in regular inspection summaries. There will, however, be a red ‘banner’ which will detail that a notice has been issued.
  • Publication of enforcement actions has been moved to location level. Details of enforcement actions will be published on the CQC website at the specific service location level, rather than at the overall provider level. This means only the affected site’s information is displayed. So for a multi-site provider, if there is an issue with only one location, this will only be referenced at that level, not across all services.

Policy changes apply to several laws and regulations:

  • Health and Social Care Act 2008 (HSCA).
  • Regulated Activities Regulations 2014.
  • CQC (Registration) Regulations 2009.

These laws set out the standards that social care providers must follow and guide how CQC enforces compliance.

CQC considers enforcement action when it appears to it that:

  • There is evidence of a breach of statutory duties (legal obligations).
  • There is a breach of specific regulations.
  • There are risks to people using services (such as harm or unsafe practices).

Civil enforcement powers (non-criminal breaches)

If a provider’s breach does not amount to a criminal offence, CQC may use civil enforcement measures, including:

  • Imposing, varying or removing conditions on a provider’s registration.
  • Suspending registration, temporarily stopping a provider from operating.
  • Cancelling registration, which removes a provider’s authorisation to operate.

Action plan requests:

  • If a breach is identified but people are not at immediate risk of harm, CQC requests an action plan from the provider.
  • The provider must submit a report outlining how they will address the breach and comply with legal requirements.
  • Failure to provide this plan is an offence and can result in further enforcement action.
  • If the submitted plan is inadequate or does not address the concerns raised, CQC may reject it and consider further steps.

Warning notices (Section 29, HSCA 2008):

  • Issued when a provider is not meeting conditions of registration, requirements under HSCA 2008, or any associated regulations.
  • Warning notices can address both past failures and ongoing breaches of regulations.

Holding providers and individuals to account (criminal enforcement powers)

In serious cases, CQC can take criminal enforcement action, including:

  • Issuing formal cautions.
  • Serving penalty notices (fines).
  • Prosecuting providers or individuals in court.

CQC has formal agreements with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to coordinate regulatory activity and share information where service user safety is concerned.

Representations and appeals:

  • Providers can make representations against a notice of intended prosecution, giving them a chance to respond before any court action is taken.
  • In civil cases, there is a right of appeal to the First Tier Tribunal, where an independent panel reviews CQC’s decisions.

Changes to publication of enforcement actions

After representations or appeals have been made, CQC will no longer publish information on its website or in inspection reports about specific enforcement actions, offering additional privacy to providers pending the outcome of legal processes.

Any and all notifications are matters upon which Hempsons has experience. Do not delay. If you or your service finds yourself in receipt of any formal notice from CQC, utilise our helpline services, and the team can assist with support, your response to CQC and practical steps forward to drive improvement. 

Navigating the CQC: A toolkit for social care providers

Hempsons has partnered with Care England to develop a comprehensive toolkit and training that thoroughly analyses each of the 34 quality statements in the single assessment framework. The toolkit has been created by Head of Social Care at Hempsons, Philippa Doyle, whose invaluable experience with CQC equips her with a profound understanding of the regulator’s inner workings and processes. Find out more.

CMM’s CQC resource page

Sponsored by Hempsons, this resource page is a one-stop-shop for care providers’ regulatory needs. For breaking news, newly published guidance, informative blog posts, a monthly column from the regulator, advice on preparing for an inspection and more, click here.

About Philippa Doyle

Philippa leads Hempsons’ social care team, specialises in CQC work and has significant experience of working both for and against, which gives her a unique insight and the ability to offer pragmatic advice. She has over twenty years’ experience in the health and social care sector and with a varied workload including information governance, safeguarding, Court of Protection and consent. She provides extensive registered manager training to aide compliance with the CQC’s fundamental standards.