Local authority assessment reports

Page last updated: 7 August 2026

Our new local authority assessments allow us to provide independent assurance to people of their quality of care in their area.

We are assessing how local authorities meet their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act (2014). 

Assessment reports

Our reports, starting with the most recently published:

Pilot assessments

The Health and Care Act 2022 expanded the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) statutory powers. The Act introduced a new legal duty requiring CQC to independently assess how local authorities deliver adult social care functions under the Care Act 2014.

Prior to commencing its local authority assessment programme, CQC ran a pilot scheme of the assessment process in 2023. We completed 5 pilot assessments to test our assessment framework, methods and processes. We have published an evaluation of these local authority pilot assessments.

The pilot assessments led to reports being published on the CQC website with an indicative rating. The report was clear that the assessment was part of the pilot. All 5 of the local authorities who were part of the pilot have since been formally assessed as part of the baselining programme of assessments of all 153 local authorities across England. As these were new assessments which did not draw on the judgements, scores or ratings from the pilot assessments, the subsequent reports do not make any reference to the findings from the pilot assessment and there is no comparison made between them.

The 5 pilot assessments were:

The CQC acknowledges the substantial contribution the pilot authorities made and the benefit of their participation to its learning. The pilot scheme found that elements at the heart of CQC’s approach were fit for purpose and that the methodology could be applied in such a way that accommodates a range of contextual factors about different local authorities. The pilot also led to amendments in the methodology as well as improvements in the way that CQC gathered the voice of people with lived experience.  Following the pilot assessments a calibration panel was in place for all reports to assist with consistency of judgements and reporting.