New domiciliary care providers must pay for premises, software, training and a phone line before applying to CQC, with no income until registered. The CQC has no legal deadline to decide. The Government should set a statutory timescale and fund lower registration costs.

CQC registration can place enormous demands on applicants: complex policies and paperwork with little guidance, alongside costly requirements — all before a single client can be taken on. Yet CQC has no statutory timescale to reach a decision on registration, and we feel there is no consistency across the registration process. Applicants can face open-ended financial pressure with no certainty. The Government should reform the process to make it structured, properly supported and time bound.