The Senedd supported plans to introduce inspection ratings for care homes, with service providers set to be required to publish “scores on the doors”.

Care homes and domiciliary services will receive one of four ratings: excellent; good; requires improvement; or requires significant improvement.

Care Inspectorate Wales has been laying the groundwork for the reforms since 2019, including a pilot of “silent” unpublished ratings over the past two years.

The regulations, which apply to adult and children’s services, come into force on 31 March, mandating the publication of inspection ratings within premises and on a provider’s website.

Under the reforms, inspection ratings must be displayed conspicuously in a location accessible to service users and visitors “without delay” following an inspection report.