CQC outlines proposed regulatory fees for providers from next April
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is publishing its consultation on the fees that it proposes to charge providers in 2017/18.
The proposals follow the plans CQC set out last year to continue to meet the Treasury’s requirement to recover its ‘chargeable costs’ in full from providers. These plans signalled that most sectors would have to move towards full cost recovery over a two-year period.
CQC has always consulted widely on any proposed changes to fees. It will analyse the feedback from this consultation to prepare a response and a final fees scheme to recommend to the Secretary of State, whose consent is required to implement the scheme from 1 April 2017.
CQC will continue to look carefully at its costs, and to demonstrate that it is fair, efficient, effective and proportionate. CQC’s budget, in relation to the overall spending on health and adult social care in England, remains at 0.16%.
David Behan, chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, said:
“We regulate over 30,000 health and adult social care providers and we set clear expectations of what good care looks like and when improvements need to be made. We will soon complete inspections of all services we rate. We know that our work is leading to better care – providers tell us our reports help identify areas for improvement, and we regularly see improvements when we re-inspect.
“Protecting the public in this way has a financial cost. The fees paid by providers enable us to fulfil our purpose of making sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care.
“The consultation proposals we have published today follow the plans we set out last year to continue to meet the Treasury’s requirement to recover our chargeable costs in full from providers. It is important that we give providers and their representatives the opportunity to review and plan for any changes that affect them from April 2017.”
The consultation runs until noon on 11 January 2017.
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1.For further information about CQC’s consultation on its fees strategy, please visit: www.cqc.org.uk/FeesConsultation2016
2.CQC is required to set fees under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, subject to consultation and the consent of the fees scheme by the Secretary of State. The next fees scheme will take legal effect on 1 April 2017 and will replace the current scheme.
3.Registered providers are liable for paying the amount set out in the fee scheme as an annual charge. The amount they pay depends on the type and size of the services they provide.
4.Providers can choose to pay their fees in instalments or as a single amount.
5.The amount spent on CQC regulation as a proportion of the total expenditure on health and adult social care in England is 16p for every £100 spent.
6.For detailed analysis from CQC on the quality of adult health and adult social care in England, based on its inspections and other evidence, please refer to CQC’s recently published State of Care report: www.cqc.org.uk/StateofCare
