Provider information return (PIR): information for adult social care services
Common PIR queries
This section provides answers to the common queries we receive about the PIR form and its completion process.
Receiving the PIR: Questions
We use the information we receive in the PIR to monitor services. It is not a pre-inspection document. Judgements about the overall quality and ratings of services are not based on the PIR, but on information gathered over the whole inspection process.
If providers were unable to submit a PIR shortly before inspection, we suggest that registered managers or equivalents familiarise themselves with How we monitor, inspect, and regulate adult social care services, along with our 5 key questions and quality statements. Reading these will provide a fuller understanding of what we are looking for and help support the narrative a service may wish to share when we inspect.
First check that the email has not been blocked, then check your mail’s spam filter and/or ‘junk’ folder. If you still cannot find the email, contact: ASCinspections@cqc.org.uk including your location name and id.
You also may not have received the PIR request if the address or contact details that we hold for you are incorrect or out of date. Registered providers must notify us if there have been changes to:
- their registration details
- email address for service of document.
To enable us to update these you need to submit Changes to registered details: provider's name and address – notification form.
Yes. New PIRs are required where ownership of the service is taken over by a new provider. For example, a new company set up to do so. Existing PIRs submitted by the previous provider can no longer be accepted.
In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept an existing PIR. Only if there are extenuating circumstances to show why you cannot submit a new PIR. For example, where there is a transfer of legal ownership but there are no changes to the:
- service
- service provision
- policies and procedures
- registered manager
- staff.
When we send a PIR request, a notification email is also sent to the Nominated Individual. It contains a link to enable them to update the Registered Manager’s contact details and resend the PIR request to the correct email address.
The letter sent to the Nominated Individual is for information only. It is the Registered Manager who receives the PIR form to complete. In some cases, the Nominated Individual and the Registered Manager are the same.
However, the Nominated Individual is sent a link which enables them to update the Registered Manager details if they are no longer correct. The link provided in the email is only a temporary solution. You still need to submit a Changes to registered details: provider's name and address – notification form. This to permanently update the contact details.
If you are registered as a dual service location, you will receive a PIR request for each service type that you offer that will need to be completed. The following service types are:
- Residential
- Community
- Shared Lives
- Specialist Colleges
Completing the PIR
PIR requests can only be sent to someone who is registered with CQC in a regulatory role to provide regulated activities at the location. However, if we receive a request from the Nominated Individual to resend the PIR to an alternative contact, we can then forward the request to that person.
No, unfortunately we are unable to provide a paper version of the PIR to complete, it is an online form. This is to enable us to efficiently store, analyse and report on the data that is returned by providers. The only exceptional circumstances are:
- your service does not have internet access. For example, there is no broadband coverage in the area. Contact CQC and we ask you to arrange your own transcribing.
- you need reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act.
Make sure you are accessing the link provided in the Registered Manager’s email, not the Nominated Individual’s. If you still need help please email ASCinspections@cqc.org.uk including your location name and id.
This information was checked before sending out requests to complete PIRs. It should be correct. Email ASCinspections@cqc.org.uk and we will investigate.
A registered person will always need to fill in the PIR. Also, you must not share the link to the form, if multiple people are drafting answers to questions this can cause information to be overridden and on some occasions, lost.
You must answer all mandatory questions on each page before the form will allow you to move on to the next. The PIR question guidance will help you gather relevant information you need before completing the PIR.
We are looking for a snapshot of the service so we limit the text to 500 words to ensure we only receive concise answers. The inspector will follow up with you if they require more information than what has been provided.
Deadline and submission of the form
Go to find and compare services on the CQC site and then search for your organisation. Under your organisation click on ‘all inspection reports and timeline’ link and then scroll down to find the earliest report. Open the report and on the summary page it will tell you the date when we first inspected the site. For certain older services, when scrolling to the bottom, you may encounter "Reports under our old system." Disregard any reports listed under this heading when determining the initial site visit date
If you provide multiple services and would like dates for all your services, send a request to ASCinspections@cqc.org.uk.
This information can only be given to active contacts in a regulatory role.
You can contact us and we will check the online system to see if the form has been submitted. But first make sure you didn’t received a copy because you:
- haven’t pressed the ‘submit’ button, although it is complete and saved, it would not have been officially submitted
- you were not the email contact who was sent the original PIR request. PIR receipts are always sent there, so you will need to check this.
If you are still unable to locate it. we can send a PDF of the PIR to locations where the receipt has been misdirected. This needs to be on a case-by-case basis.
All extension requests are at the inspector’s discretion. You will need to contact the inspector directly and copy us in on ASCinspections@cqc.org.uk, as we need to know if an extension is granted.
The final summary page displays all entries made within the form. This allows you to print your responses before submitting or reviewing them. When you submit the form you will receive a confirmation email. The email includes all your entries.
No. When you submit the PIR the information is automatically sent to our online system.