The Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment etc.) and the EU Machinery Regulation (Enforcement etc. in Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
Authorized the Care Quality Commission to assess and rate local authorities' performance of adult social care duties.
These regulations grant the Care Quality Commission (CQC) the authority to review and assess how local authorities in England perform their adult social care duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014.
By prescribing these functions as 'regulated' activities for the purposes of assessment, the document enables the CQC to apply its inspection framework to local government social services.
The provisions apply to all local authorities in England responsible for social care and the CQC as the regulatory body.
Arguments For
The explanatory memorandum states that these regulations ensure the Care Quality Commission (CQC) can effectively assess how local authorities exercise their adult social care functions under the Care Act 2014.
The document indicates that by specifying these functions, the CQC is authorized to conduct reviews, set indicators for assessment, and publish performance ratings for local authorities.
Arguments Against
Legal commentators have noted that the effectiveness of these reviews depends on the CQC’s internal capacity and the metrics chosen for assessment, which are not detailed in the regulations themselves.
Some local government representatives have expressed concerns regarding the additional administrative requirements and potential resource burdens associated with regular external assessments of social care delivery.
1. Citation, commencement and extent
(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Care Quality Commission (Additional Functions) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
(2) These Regulations come into force on 1st April 2024.
(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.
This section establishes the official name of the regulations and sets the date they take legal effect as 1 April 2024.
While the regulations extend to both England and Wales, the underlying statutory functions being regulated apply primarily to local authorities in England.
2. Amendment of the Care Quality Commission (Additional Functions) Regulations 2011
(1) The Care Quality Commission (Additional Functions) Regulations 2011 are amended as follows.
(2) After regulation 2 (reviews and assessments: Health and Care Act 2022) insert—
“3. Reviews and assessments: Care Act 2014
(1) The functions of a local authority in England under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014 are prescribed for the purposes of section 46B(1) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (reviews and performance assessments: local authorities).
(2) But the following functions are not prescribed for those purposes—
(a) the function of making an enquiry under section 42(1) of the Care Act 2014 (enquiry into whether an adult is at risk of abuse or neglect);
(b) a function in so far as it is exercised by a person other than the local authority by virtue of an order under section 79 of the Care Act 2014 (delegation of local authority functions).”
This section amends the 2011 Regulations to include local authority functions under the Care Act 2014 within the CQC's review remit.
This permits the CQC to evaluate how councils manage adult social care, including assessment of needs and support for carers.
Sub-paragraph (2) explicitly excludes certain activities from these reviews.
Specifically, the CQC may not use this power to review individual safeguarding enquiries or functions that a local authority has delegated to a third party under specific legal orders.
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