The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced the start of a consultation on a new excellence award for adult social care services in England.

The new voluntary award, due to launch in April 2012, will be delivered by third party organisations under licence to CQC.

The consultation seeks people’s views on a definition of excellence, developed by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), and key aspects of the assessment process.

Download the consultation document

The consultation document asks the following questions:

• Do you agree with SCIE’s definition of excellence?
• What sort of evidence should be gathered to demonstrate excellence?
• Should the scheme offer a pre-screening process for providers?
• How long should the award last?
• Under what circumstances would a provider lose the award?

The consultation runs until 1 August 2011.