To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many inspections have been carried out by the Care Quality Commission to ensure care homes adhered to the guidance with respect to visiting for families of residents over the last 12 months; and how many care homes have been found not to have been following that guidance.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) expects providers to follow the Government’s guidance on visiting. The CQC’s adult social care inspectors request information on visiting arrangements on all care home inspections. Between 1 February 2021 and 31 January 2022, the CQC conducted 4,764 inspections of care homes. In 4,597 or 96.5% of inspections, the CQC received assurance that providers were adhering to the guidelines, while in 167 or 3.5% of inspections, this assurance was not received.