Lambeth Adult Social Care Achieves 'Good' CQC Rating with 'Outstanding' Equity Performance
Lambeth Adult Social Care has been rated 'Good' overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with particular praise for its 'Outstanding' performance in equity and outcomes.
The CQC's assessment, published in May 2026, found Lambeth's adult social care services to be Good
overall, achieving a score of 78 out of 100. This marks a significant achievement, placing the borough in the top 10% nationally for its overall score and making it one of only five local authorities to receive an Outstanding
judgement for Equity in Experiences and Outcomes.
Lambeth was tied for eighth overall nationally out of 153 assessed local authorities and had the fourth highest score in London.
Richard Sparks, Director of Adult Social Care, highlighted the positive outcome, attributing the Outstanding
rating for equity to the council's ongoing efforts to address inequalities and ensure services are responsive to users. He noted that equity and inclusion were key considerations, with intersectionality forming a core part of the practice model. This approach ensures that people's protected characteristics, communication needs, and cultural preferences are understood and met.
Councillor Jeremy Isaacs, co-Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, congratulated the team, acknowledging the good practice, especially around equality, while also noting eight areas identified for improvement.
The CQC inspection, the first of its kind for local authorities in over 15 years, recognised Lambeth's strong partnership working, commitment to equity and justice, and effective practice models. Assessors spoke with frontline staff, senior managers, partners, care providers, and individuals with experience of the services. The service demonstrated a strong understanding of local inequalities and disproportionality, commissioning provision to improve outcomes and experiences for seldom-heard groups. The CQC also recognised an effective practice model that led to strength-based and person-centred assessments. Furthermore, the service is co-creating an equity and inclusion action plan with people with lived experience and carers, building on existing good practice. A comprehensive dashboard of the user population by protected characteristics, including ward-level comparisons, was used to identify at-risk groups, and predictive modelling was piloted to identify factors impacting care and support needs.
Despite the positive overall rating, the report identified areas for improvement. Councillor David Oxley raised questions regarding direct payment uptake, Home Improvement Agency waiting times, and safeguarding concerns. Mr. Sparks acknowledged a slight increase in waiting times due to rising demand and complexity of cases, detailing ongoing work to improve direct payment uptake and reduce waiting times for Home Improvement Agency assessments.
The committee requested further updates on the progress of the direct payments improvement plan, baseline targets, and the CQC action plan. They also asked for more detailed data on performance metrics, specifically requesting baseline targets and measurements that define success. Additionally, they sought information on how far below the national average Lambeth is with direct payments for both users and carers, and how many people have shown up for services before and after improved satisfaction metrics were implemented. Details on the use of the Strategic Investment Fund in relation to neighbourhood working were also requested.
Safeguarding concerns raised included issues around Section 42 thresholds for safeguarding concerns and partners feeling unsure about them, as well as providers stating that feedback on the outcomes of safeguarding investigations was not always timely. To address these, Lambeth has published a new three-year strategic plan for safeguarding through the Safeguarding Adults Board, which includes a focus on targeted training and engagement for 2026/27. Performance data shows a steady fall in the number of new safeguarding concerns year-on-year, evidencing increasing confidence and proficiency amongst partners in identifying appropriate safeguarding concerns. David Jennings, Assistant Director for Quality Assurance in Adult Social Care, also explained measures to improve feedback loops to practitioners, including the introduction of feedback forms for frontline practitioners and working to ensure the first point of contact for a new referral is directly back to the referral.
More information on the CQC inspection can be found in the Public reports pack.
