Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) (a) publishes a code of conduct for its inspectors on its website and (b) places a duty on its inspectors and other staff involved in inspections to declare to CQC whether friends or family members are, to their knowledge, being looked after in CQC inspected premises.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. The CQC has provided the following information.

The Code of Conduct for the CQC inspectors is classed as internal guidance and, in line with the CQC’s internal guidance and policies, has not been considered for publication on the CQC website.

The CQC have a detailed Declaration of Interest and Resolution of Conflicts Policy which requires any staff member engaged in registration and inspection activities who has used the specific service within the last five years to declare this. The same requirement applies where a member of the individual’s immediate family has used or has been involved in the service in the last five years. Where any relationship, whether close friendship, personal or family develops or exists between a CQC staff member and a service provider or their employees, the staff member must declare the relationship to their line manager as soon as is reasonably practicable.