Business Continuity Lessons from Social Care Failures — What Commissioners Expect You to Learn

July 22, 2025

When social care providers fail, business continuity weaknesses are often part of the story — from poor workforce planning to gaps in leadership during disruption. Commissioners and regulators expect providers to learn from these incidents and demonstrate resilience through strong governance and continuity planning.

Common Themes in Business Continuity Failures:

Over-reliance on individuals with no succession planning in place.
Poor financial oversight or no financial contingency.
Failure to plan for recruitment, retention, and workforce resilience.
Inadequate digital infrastructure or cyber risk planning.
Weak supply chain management — including PPE, catering, and utilities.
Plans that exist on paper but are not known, tested, or embedded.

What Commissioners and CQC Expect You to Evidence:

That you’ve identified your specific vulnerabilities and planned accordingly.
That continuity planning is integrated with your governance and leadership.
That you actively review and update your plans in light of sector risks and trends.
That you can articulate continuity measures clearly in tenders and inspections.

Failing to learn from sector-wide risks can undermine your reputation and success in tenders. Embedding strong business continuity practices helps demonstrate foresight, professionalism, and a commitment to delivering safe, sustainable services even through challenge or change.

Written by Mike Harrison, Founder of Impact Guru Ltd — specialists in bid writing and strategy for social care providers

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