Wandsworth Council's Adult Social Care services have received a 'Good' rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), highlighting the council's commitment to person-centred care and effective community partnerships.
The CQC's final report recognised the council's preventative approach and strengths-based assessments, where staff work with people early to reduce their need for care. The report also noted good collaboration with voluntary sector partners to support residents holistically.
The Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee received an update on the CQC assessment at their meeting on 18 November 2025. The CQC Assessment shared highlights and key findings from the assessment process and final report. The council received an overall rating of 'Good' from the CQC, with a rating of 70%. The CQC provides a rating for each of the 9 quality statements. Wandsworth Adult Social Care achieved a 'good' rating for 7 out of the 9 quality statements:
- Assessing needs
- Supporting people to lead healthier lives
- Equity in experience and outcomes
- Care provision, integration and continuity
- Partnerships and communities
- Safe pathways, systems and transitions
- Safeguarding
- Governance, management and sustainability
- Learning, improvement and innovation
Key findings from the CQC report included:
- A preventative approach was evident at all levels of the local authority.
- Care Act 2014 assessments focused on people's strengths and abilities.
- Good work with partners and the voluntary and community sector to support people holistically and in the least restrictive way, preventing, reducing and delaying the need for care and support.
- People told CQC they felt safe, and there were robust policies and procedures in place to support safe care and support.
- The local authority is committed to providing support for unpaid carers in their caring role and the experience of unpaid carers is mostly positive. Specific actions are being taken to strengthen the offer for unpaid carers to ensure they have access to a range of support to prevent carer breakdown including timely access to emergency respite.
- The Council works to ensure people have access to a wide range of care that is safe, effective, affordable and high-quality.
- Staff felt valued and motivated in their roles and praised the visibility and support of senior leaders and the Council's emphasis on staff wellbeing, training, and equality.
- There was clear co-production with people who used services, and their carers and people said they felt listened to and included in decision-making.
- Equality, diversity and inclusion were embedded throughout practice and were at the forefront of the local authority's corporate vision and adult social care vision. The Council's inclusive approach was reflected in its status as London Borough of Culture 2025 and Borough of Sanctuary.
- Joint working with other council teams and partners such as health services for example to ensure smooth transitions between services, such as hospital discharges.
- Innovative use of digital technology to reduce waiting lists and improve service delivery, particularly in occupational therapy.
The report also identified areas for further exploration and development, including:
- Continuing to strengthen the offer for unpaid carers.
- Creating greater choice of local service provision and developing partnerships to invest in high quality supported living for residents to enable more people to be placed in the borough.
- Ensuring people are waiting well where there are delays in accessing care and support.
