CQC Renews Commitment to Lived Experience as New Contracts Begin This Spring
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has confirmed that Choice Support will continue to deliver its Experts by Experience (ExE) programme, whilst the Voices for Health Equality Partnership — led by National Voices and supported by Innovation Unit and Collaborate CIC — will take on management of the Public Engagement Network (PEN).
Both contracts are set to commence in April 2026 and will run for a period of three years.
The announcements follow a formal procurement process and represent a significant reaffirmation of the regulator’s stated mission to place the lived experiences of service users at the centre of how care is assessed and monitored across England.
The Experts by Experience programme draws on individuals who have current or recent personal experience of using — or caring for someone who uses — services regulated by the CQC. These individuals actively participate in inspections and other regulatory activities, providing a direct human perspective on the quality of care being delivered.
The Public Engagement Network, meanwhile, brings together more than 200 equality-focused voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations from across England. Through this network, the CQC receives insights drawn from communities who are disproportionately affected by inequalities in access to and quality of health and social care.
For providers of residential and nursing care, the continuation of these programmes carries practical implications. The CQC has made clear that information gathered through lived experience informs how it assesses services and how it monitors the rights of people detained under the Mental Health Act.
Care home providers can therefore expect that the voices of residents and their families will remain an active component of inspection activity in the years ahead.
The regulator has also indicated that the programmes support its statutory duty to involve people with lived experience in its work — a duty that sits alongside the CQC’s wider ambitions around improvement and addressing health inequalities.
Kim Arnold, National Lead at Choice Support said: “We’re proud to announce that we’ve been awarded the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Experts by Experience contract.
This achievement reflects our continued commitment to amplifying the voices of people with lived experience and ensuring they play a central role in shaping high quality care.
“We look forward to supporting CQC in strengthening insight, improving services, and driving meaningful change across health and social care.”
Sarah Sweeney, Director of Evidence and Improvement at National Voices said: “When people talk about health inequalities, it can sometimes feel as though they are describing something abstract: a disparity in access or a statistic in a report. But when we engage communities who experience health inequalities, it feels much more personal: a loved one lost, a quiet indignity experienced, a fear that compassionate care will not be forthcoming.
“At National Voices, we want to make sure these voices travel to the heart of the system, shaping how services are delivered, assessed and improved. We are optimistic about how this programme of work with CQC and the VCSE sector can turn insight into action, evidence into change and ensure care is truly safe, effective and compassionate for everyone.”
“Chris Day, Director of Engagement at CQC said: “We know how invaluable it is to hear, and act on, the voices of people who use services. This work underlines our continued commitment to ensuring the lived experience of people impacts on all aspects of our regulatory activity, driving change for people who use services and directly addressing inequalities. I am delighted that we will be working with Choice Support and National Voices for the next three years to drive this work forward.”
