Consultation outcome

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: consultation response

Updated 4 November 2021

Introduction

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 requires all providers who carry on ‘regulated activities’ in England to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and to comply with the requirements and fundamental standards set out in regulations made under that Act. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (“the 2014 Regulations”) sets out these regulated activities, and the fundamental standards that all registered providers must comply with. The 2014 Regulations are currently due to expire after 31 March 2022.^{[footnote 1]}

On 15 July 2021, the department published a consultation paper to seek the views on the government’s intention to extend the expiry date of the 2014 Regulations by a further 3 years to 31 March 2025, to ensure that providers who carry on regulated activities continue to be required to register with the CQC and comply with the fundamental standards This will also allow time for the department to carry out a full review of the 2014 Regulations to determine whether their scope is still proportionate and ensure that regulated activities are delivered safely to a high standard. The consultation on the expiry date closed on 2 September 2021.

The consultation did not attract a lot of interest, possibly due to the consultation being about extending the expiry date, which does not change policy or how the CQC regulates providers. The consultation received 32 responses from health and care provider organisations, individuals and the CQC. The consultation was placed on the CQC’s bulletin page for providers and on GOV.UK for a period of 8 weeks.

A summary of the responses to the consultation

The consultation asked the respondents 2 questions.

Question 1

Do you agree with the department’s proposal to extend the expiry date of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 for a further 3 years? Yes or No

Of the 32 responses received to question one, 19 were in favour of the department’s proposal and 13 were against.

Question 2

Do you have any other comments in relation to the department’s proposals to extend the expiry date?

Of the 19 responses in favour of the department’s proposal, there were 4 comments. There were 9 comments from 13 responses against the proposal. 

Responses in favour of the department’s proposal highlighted the certainty the extension will provide to health and social care providers and those who use the services by allowing the CQC to continue to ensure safe, effective, and high-quality services. One response suggested that the alternative of replacement regulations would be untimely as the department is still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Further responses in favour of the proposal commented on the urgent need to extend the regulations and that new replacement regulations would be an unnecessary disruption.

Several responses against the proposal suggested that extending the expiry date of the 2014 Regulations by 3 years was too long.

One response commented that the regulations should only be extended for a period of one year, to ensure the regulations do not interfere with the government’s long-term commitment to reforming the adult social care sector.

Another response commented that a short extension was necessary but this should be no more than 18 months.

Several responses against the proposal included suggestions that the department should have offered alternative options to extending the expiry date by 3 years. In particular, it was commented that the 2014 Regulations should not be extended without also making amendments to reflect changes in health and care sector since 2014. The department did not offer alternative options to extending the expiry date because the extension will bring about no change in policy with regards to the requirements that providers need to comply with and the CQC’s role as the national, independent regulator of health and adult social care service providers.

In addition, the department is conducting a wider review of the 2014 Regulations, for which there will be a further consultation. Other comments against extending the expiry date included the need to change the current regulations to account for changes the CQC have made in their assessment and inspection methodology.

Next steps

After taking into account the responses to this consultation, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care intends to make regulations to extend the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 by a further 3 years. The government intends to lay a draft statutory instrument in Parliament where it will be debated in both Houses. 

As set out in the consultation document, extending the expiry date by 3 years will give the department sufficient time to complete a full review of the 2014 Regulations, draft changes to the 2014 Regulations, and to bring into force new regulations to implement any changes as a result of the review.

The department intends to consult on the proposed amendments.

1. This provision is contained in regulation 1(6), which was inserted by the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2015. ↩