We're continuing our work to rebuild our regulatory approach and digital services as part of our wider organisational turnaround.
Our aim is to become a more effective regulator, deliver a better experience for registered providers, and give people greater confidence in our judgements.
We know providers have experienced frustrations in recent years, including delays in assessment activity, ratings that may not reflect current performance, inconsistency in regulatory processes, and digital systems that can be difficult to use. We are committed to addressing these issues through a major programme of improvement.
Investing in better regulation
Earlier this month, our Board approved plans for rebuilding our regulatory approach and digital services. This investment will support significant improvements to the systems, tools and processes we use to regulate services.
The programme includes:
- rebuilding core digital services, including the provider portal
- developing new sector-specific assessment frameworks, guidance and methods
- improving the quality and use of regulatory data
- creating more efficient and consistent assessment and registration processes.
The work has already started and will be a key part of our plans to become a more effective and responsive regulator.
As we develop our new digital services, we'll be asking providers for feedback about what matters most to them so we can design services that better meet their needs.
Progress so far
We have now completed more than 9,646 assessments, against our target of 9,000 across all sectors by the end of September. While this is a significant milestone, we recognise that there is still more work to do.
Throughout the summer, we have continued testing and piloting our draft assessment frameworks across all sectors. Providers participating in this work have offered valuable feedback, helping us understand what is working well and where further refinement is needed.
Improving assessment activity now
While we develop our approach for the future, we're also making changes to improve the experience of regulation today.
We've introduced new ways of prioritising our activity so that we can carry out more assessments and address some of the challenges associated with aged ratings and services that have not yet been assessed.
We know providers want ratings and regulatory information that more accurately reflect the quality of care they are delivering, and this remains a key focus for us.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead to the autumn, we plan to undertake a programme of bespoke, sector-specific engagement to explore areas of our assessment frameworks, guidance and methods in greater detail. This work will help ensure our approach is informed by the experiences and expertise of providers and stakeholders across different sectors.
Alongside this, we have continued to review and develop plans for a new digital system that will support future assessment and registration services. We are currently progressing detailed design and discovery activity, which will help ensure the system is effective, user-focused and capable of supporting our future regulatory requirements.
As part of this work, we'll also be exploring how technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) could help reduce delays, improve consistency and support regulatory decision-making. Any use of AI will be subject to appropriate governance, oversight and transparency.
We will continue to keep providers and stakeholders updated with more details about the changes to expect over the coming months and years as this work progresses. We’ll also make sure there are further opportunities to give feedback and help shape our approach.