Market Oversight provider guidance: engagement exercise

Page last updated: 12 May 2022
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We're proposing to make changes to the guidance on our Market Oversight scheme. We asked for stakeholder views and feedback on changes we're proposing to reflect learning from the first five years of the scheme.

What is Market Oversight?

The Market Oversight scheme aims to protect people using adult social care services. It helps protect them from having their care interrupted where a large or specialist care provider is at risk of business failure and, as a result, one or more care services stops. Where we assess that this is likely, we tell the local authority where the affected service(s) deliver care. The local authority can review and enact their contingency plans, preserving continuity of care for people using those services. Local authorities have a legal duty to make sure people continue to have their care needs met if a provider stops being able to meet them.

There are around 65 large or specialist providers of residential care services and home-care services in the scheme.

What this engagement exercise covered

Market Oversight started in April 2015. We developed the scheme with care providers, financial experts and other key stakeholders. We consulted a range of stakeholders about draft provider guidance and developed it with a stakeholder working group. The guidance was revised using feedback and published when the scheme started. That guidance, as well as a quick guide for the public, is on our Market Oversight of adult social care page.

We have learnt lessons about how well the scheme has been operating. We identified some areas to strengthen and improve processes as well as guidance. The way that adult social care providers operate has continued to change. We learned from issuing two notifications of likely business failure to local authorities.

We are proposing revisions to the guidance. We aim to streamline and strengthen it to better reflect our legal duties and experience of running Market Oversight. This is for the benefit of people who use adult social care services. We sought feedback and views on proposed changes. For a schedule of the changes please see page 71 of the guidance.

Engagement exercise document

Draft Market Oversight of ‘difficult to replace’ providers of adult social care: Guidance for providers

This engagement exercise closed at midday on Monday 19 October 2020. We will update this page when the revised guidance is published.