Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of research by Dr George Julian showing that the Care Quality Commission has secured only one prosecution for a death involving a person with a learning disability in over a decade, what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the CQC's enforcement strategy in this area.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an independent regulator, and decisions on enforcement action are a matter for the CQC, exercised in line with its statutory remit and published enforcement policy.

Prosecution is one of a range of regulatory tools available to the CQC and is used where breaches are serious, there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, and prosecution is in the public interest, particularly where other regulatory action would not be proportionate or sufficient.

In making these decisions, the CQC is guided by The Code for Crown Prosecutors, and all criminal investigations are conducted in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and its codes of practice.