Swindon’s adult social care services well placed to deliver improvements
Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care has praised the hard work of staff following the publication of an inspection report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Published: Tuesday, 14th October 2025
This was the Council’s first inspection under the new regulatory framework.
The CQC visited the local authority in March to assess the adult social care services it provides to local residents, giving the department a score of 62 - just one point below a ‘Good’ rating.
Councillor Ray Ballman echoed the comments from the CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, Chris Badger, who singled out the Council’s committed leadership and motivated workforce for having a clear vision and how they are “eager to contribute to ongoing improvement” and have made “encouraging inroads in addressing delays and backlogs”.
Mr Badger also highlighted the strength of the Council’s partnership working, particularly with the health sector. The CQC said that: “Overall, Swindon Borough Council are aware of the areas where improvements are needed and should be pleased with many positive findings in our assessment and the foundations they have built.”
Cllr Ballman says she is confident the Council is well on the way to bringing about the improvements necessary to nudge it towards a ‘Good’ rating and beyond.
“I’m extremely proud of all our staff who work in our adult social care department because they do a tremendous job on a daily basis to support our residents,” Cllr Ballman said.
“To miss out on a ‘Good’ grading by one point shows we are firmly on the right track and the CQC’s report recognises a lot of the positive work that is being carried out to underpin our vision of everyone having ‘a home, a friend and a purpose’.
“We know we have work to do to reduce the delays in assessments and reviews and speed up how we provide support. It was encouraging to see the CQC noting that we had taken steps to improve things, but that these changes were in their early stages and had not yet become embedded in our practices. But this will come.
“I am confident we can realise the sustained improvement the CQC is looking for and it will be great to show inspectors the progress we have made the next time they visit Swindon for their next inspection.”
The CQC report will be discussed by the Council’s Cabinet at its meeting next week (22 Oct).