Seabrooke Manor Limited, R (on the application of) v The Care Quality Commission

Facts

The claimant, Seabrooke Manor Limited, runs a care home at Lavender Place, Ilford, registered to provide accommodation and nursing or personal care for up to 120 people over 18, many of whom lack capacity and are accommodated under authorisations issued pursuant to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The claimant took over the home on 9 August 2022 and registered with the defendant, the Care Quality Commission, the following day. The home had been rated "Good" in all areas following an inspection in April 2018. After an unannounced inspection on 13 and 14 June 2023, a draft report was sent to the claimant on 2 August 2023; the claimant made a 35-page Factual Accuracy Check submission with 44 documents, to which the CQC responded on 6 October 2023, and the report was published on 10 October 2023. That report erroneously found a breach of regulation 17 of the 2014 Regulations, corrected in the final report dated 30 November 2023, which rated the safe and well-led key questions, and the service overall, "Requires Improvement". Two further paper-based reviews by senior specialists supported those ratings. The claimant sought judicial review on four grounds, contending the ratings were irrational and should be quashed and replaced with "Good". Permission was granted by Sweeting J by an order made on 20 February 2024.