Identify an agency/inspectorate that holds health and social care to account.

• A. Ofsted
• B. Care Quality Commission
• C. HMRC
• D. Bank of England

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is identifying who ensures quality and safety in health and social care by checking services, registering providers, and taking action when standards aren’t met. That role belongs to the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator for health and social care in England. The CQC inspects a wide range of services—hospitals, GP practices, clinics, care homes, and homecare providers—against fundamental standards and publishes how well they perform. If a service falls short, the regulator can require improvements, issue warnings, impose fines, or even suspend or cancel a registration. This is what keeps health and social care providers accountable to high standards.

For context, Ofsted regulates education and some children’s services, while HMRC collects taxes and the Bank of England manages monetary policy. These bodies don’t regulate health and social care in the same comprehensive way, which is why the Care Quality Commission is the best fit for this question.