Adult Social Care in Luton rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission

The CQC assess how local authorities meet their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act. Today’s (22 May) published report confirms that families across Luton can be confident that adult social care here is safe, consistent and centred on what matters to people.

 The inspection acknowledged:

• positive impact of the service’s preventative and community‑based teams with many people regaining independence through short‑term support
• residents using Direct Payments reported high satisfaction particularly to support care meeting cultural and spiritual needs
• assessments and care planning reflected residents’ right to choice, building on their strengths and focussing on what they wanted to achieve
• annual review performance was significantly higher than the national average at 73.44% compared with 59.13%
• safeguarding was judged to be robust, timely and sensitive, with people’s wishes central throughout again outstripping national performance at 84.32% compared with 80.93%
• the diverse workforce reflected the community it serves
• there was a strong culture of continuous learning with staff describing leadership as “approachable”, “visible” and “compassionate”

Councillor Basit Mahmood, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care at the time of the inspection, said: “We welcome the report’s findings, which recognises the commitment and professionalism of our care workforce and the strong partnerships supporting residents every day. This is a positive result for Luton and a moment of real pride for everyone working in Adult Social Care.

“Achieving a ‘Good’ outcome at a time when demand and pressures for social care services are high nationally speaks volumes about our teams’ hard work and resilience. However, we are not complacent and recognise there is always room to further develop but this inspection gives us a strong base to build on as we continue improving.

“We are an ambitious council with a clear commitment to giving residents the best possible support, tackling inequalities, and removing barriers so that everyone in Luton can live well and feel part of our community.”

Areas of improvements identified by CQC were anticipated and therefore actions were already underway. Since the inspection in November 2025 there has been good progress in all areas including reduction in occupational therapist waiting lists and a significant decrease in delays for financial assessments. Efforts are also underway to ensure all carers have a solid contingency plan to managing unexpected changes.

The inspection took place while the adult social care service was in the final stages of implementing a new Target Operating Model. The council is confident that this approach, focused on resolving issues earlier, preventing escalation, and supporting people to remain independent, will strengthen services even further and build on this result.

The full inspection report is available at: CQC local authority assessment reports