Committee Pilots New Social Care Ratings System To Hold Government To Account 

An independent evaluation system that will give ratings on the Government’s progress against its pledges on health and social care targets is to be piloted. The process will be carried out by an expert panel established to evaluate a specific policy area, the Health and Social Care Committee has announced.

The CQC-style process will offer independent and objective evaluation of ministerial pledges within a system designed to develop and enhance the Health and Social Care Committee’s core task of holding the Government to account. The findings of the panel are expected to feed into on-going inquiries carried out by the Committee and be complementary to its work.

The Committee has announced that the initial pilot will examine progress against targets in maternity services, an area where evaluation is expected to be of particular value.

Chair’s comments

Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee said:

“We are piloting a new CQC-style ratings system to provide an expert independent assessment of the government’s record on key pledges. This will mean the government is held to account by an evaluation process similar to that used across the NHS and social care system which gives not just an absolute score but key pointers as to how to improve that score next time round.

“We hope it will focus attention on areas such as cancer, mental health and patient safety where a number of vital commitments have been made.”