White label providers: statement of intent

CQC has a statutory obligation to maintain an accurate register of services. One of our strategic priorities is to improve the effectiveness of registration. We want our Register to provide as much information as possible so people can choose the right service for them or their loved one.

Our register must contain information to identify who is providing regulated activities. We propose to link registered providers with other (non-registered) company names where they are either re-selling or distributing a service. This will appear as "in association with". We think this will help the public to better understand who is carrying on the regulated activity. We will first update our website to identify the identify the legal name of the provider, and the associated white label provider. This will extend to all brands and trading names over time.

Disclaimer: white label agreements

We want our register to provide information to help people choose the right health or social care service for them or a loved one. We provide this information to be transparent and open.

The extra information we want to add to our register is provided by consent of external companies. We cannot compel companies to tell us where these arrangements exist or where they change. So, our register may sometimes:

• be out of date with current contractual arrangements
• not reflect all a provider’s contractual relationships

A white label agreement is a contract between a manufacturer of goods or provider of services, and a 'reseller'. The reseller sells the goods or services under its own brand. For health and care services, often the reseller is not registered with us to carry on a regulated activity. Instead, it works in partnership with a registered provider to deliver a service using its own brand.

A company or person delivering a regulated activity without CQC registration is committing an offence. However, in a white label agreement, the partner organisation registered with us is responsible for delivering the regulated activity. We monitor, inspect and rate the registered partner organisation. They are liable if they breach our regulations.

We assess the quality of care, including against our fundamental standards. By listing details of the companies with whom registered providers work, we do not recommend or endorse these unregistered companies. Reference to these companies is subject to our website terms and conditions.