Bulletin special: Independent review of our technology published

Care Quality Commission Internal Comms sent this bulletin at 26-03-2025 01:25 PM GMT

Bulletin special: Independent review of our technology published

Wednesday 26 March

Today (26 March), the independent review of the technology that supported our transformation has been published on our website. The report sets out that:

The primary cause of our technology failure was a failed organisational transformation.
The regulatory platform and the provider portal are salvageable but require substantial development and rebuilding work.

Read the executive summary or full report.

Aim of the review

Peter Gill, an independent IT expert, was asked to carry out the review by our Chief Executive, Julian Hartley.

The review considered 2 key questions:

How and why did we get to the point where the technology is causing such significant organisational disruption?
Can we continue with the technology as it is? If so, what needs to be done to make it fit for purpose? If not, how do we get the right technology in place as quickly as possible?

Peter spoke with over 100 colleagues from across the organisation as well as design and delivery partners and conducted an in-depth analysis of documentation about how our technology systems were designed and delivered.

Findings

The report clearly sets out the scale of the problems that resulted in the failure of our technology and the impact that transformation had across the organisation. They include:

Technical issues with the way the regulatory platform and provider portal function, resulting in multiple challenges including, for example, an overly complex assessment process, a poor user experience in registration, low use of the provider portal for notifications, and challenges with data quality.
Poor decision-making and major failures in governance – for example eroding of sector expertise, siloed working, and a lack of adherence to industry standards.
Fundamental cultural issues, as concerns were raised and colleagues did not believe they were listened to. This was reported to have a negative mental and physical health impact on colleagues. Data was also not given the importance it should have.
The total spend on the regulatory transformation programme, which includes the regulatory platform and the provider portal, has been £99 million from inception in July 2019 to date. The vast majority of the benefits expected to be delivered have not yet been achieved.
Parts of the regulatory platform are working well. These are mainly in the customer contact area used by NCSC, for example richer data capture, time-saving automation of some processes, and the ability to connect and view different data and information in one place.

Recommendations

There are 23 recommendations, which can be grouped in 5 broad areas. They reflect what is needed as part of rebuilding CQC, and redeveloping the regulatory platform and the provider portal:

Culture
Governance
Operating model
Change management
Data and Digital.

Our Board welcomes and accepts the recommendations.

The report recommends that CQC “retains Microsoft Dynamics 365 as a strategic asset” and concludes that the regulatory platform and the provider portal are salvageable. It sets out that the systems will require substantial development and rebuilding work and that this should be done by CQC colleagues with some additional support.

The recommendations also cover the need to:

Develop a culture where data is seen as critical and strategically important.
Ensure robust governance and clear roles and responsibilities.
Extensively engage with and involve users, internally and externally. This includes putting in place additional ways to ensure the concerns and feedback of CQC colleagues and external partners are listened to and acted on.
Follow best practice and industry standards.

The full recommendations can be found in the report on our website.

Julian Hartley, Chief Executive, said:

“The findings in this report evidence that the way the digital transformation programme was carried out was completely unacceptable. It marks a critical moment in terms of where we are, what’s gone wrong and where we’re going.

“I want to thank the colleagues who have given their time and expertise to help inform the report. The report praises colleagues for their diligence and determination to move forward and bring CQC back to being a fully effective organisation. I would like to echo those thanks.

“The report starkly highlights the cultural issues and the fact that colleagues were not listened to. I am focused on putting this right. I will be recommending to the new Chair that we commission an independent review of organisational governance. Our CQC Way is central to restoring trust and confidence with colleagues, providers and the public and I believe that working together we can make the changes needed.”

Esther Provins, Interim Chief Digital and Data Officer, added:

“I know colleagues, providers and wider stakeholders have been waiting to read this review. Peter Gill’s findings are indeed sobering however I believe they appropriately represent the voice of all who were, and continue to be, impacted by the challenges in our historic transformation programme and associated digital systems.

“The recommendations are fundamental to rebuilding CQC and getting back to delivering our purpose and speak to much wider issues than just challenges with technology. There is much to do to make this right, and I have already started to work with colleagues and stakeholders to develop an action plan that will deliver the recommendations in the report.”

Next steps

Continue to progress our 4 immediate actions and 5 foundational improvements – these have been informed by your feedback, and insight from our engagement with the public, providers and wider stakeholders. Technology and IT systems are a priority as we return to delivering our purpose and central to doing this well is The CQC Way.
Our Freedom to Speak Up process will be strengthened to help rebuild a positive culture where everyone feels they can speak up and their voices will be heard.
Continue to strengthen Executive team leadership and sector specialisms with the appointment of 4 chief inspectors.
An immediate independent review of governance will be recommended.
An action plan to respond to the recommendations will be shared at a future CQC Board meeting.

Ongoing conversations

You can hear more on the findings and our response in the all-colleague calls. The CQC Way Safe Space online platform remains open until 2 April. Please help develop and shape our future organisational culture and share your views.