Lincolnshire Council Secures Good Rating Following CQC Review

Lincolnshire County Council’s adult social care provision has been upgraded to good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a review of its initial assessment.

The authority was previously rated as requiring improvement after CQC assessed its performance against nine quality statements across four themes under its responsibilities in the Care Act 2014.

Following publication of the assessment in August, the council requested a review of the rating. CQC subsequently clarified evidence submitted by the authority relating to governance, management and sustainability, increasing its score for that quality statement from two to three.

This raised the council’s overall assessment score from 62% to 64%, resulting in an upgrade from requires improvement to good.

CQC identified several areas of progress during its assessment, including the council’s work to improve support for unpaid carers.

The authority’s Carers Steering Group introduced a new monitoring approach to help identify unpaid carers at an earlier stage. It also worked with primary care services to raise awareness of carers’ needs and collaborated with partners to improve support pathways for young adult carers.

The assessment also highlighted Lincolnshire’s Suicide Prevention Strategy for 2024–2028, which was developed jointly with people with lived experience. The council secured funding for three countywide projects focused on suicide prevention.

CQC further noted ongoing work with health organisations and voluntary and community sector partners to establish a new mental health service model. Council leaders were developing a framework to explain the pathways and services available through local mental health teams.

The revised rating follows the completion of CQC’s first national assessment programme covering local authority adult social care provision between 2023 and 2026. The regulator has published a national report on the findings as it prepares to move towards repeat assessments.

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