Campaigners have called on the CQC to take “urgent action” over the one in five care homes in England rated  Inadequate or Requires Improvement.

Figures published by The Daily Express show 2,662 or 14,410 facilities inspected by the CQC were Inadequate or Requires Improvement as of 3 July.

Helen Wildbore, director of Care Rights UK, said: “With the reported drop in CQC inspections, we fear these figures are not a true reflection of what’s happening in care services. But even one in five care homes being rated below standard is completely unacceptable. Every day we hear from people about the harm this is causing. We should all be able to expect a basic level of care. The regulator must take urgent action to protect people from substandard care.”

Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK and co-chair of the Care & Support Alliance, said: “Since the pledge to fix social care four years ago, we have all been on a wild goose chase as one policy after another has been announced with a fanfare, only to be subsequently shelved, diluted or dropped.

“The transformational change in care provision older people need to see and was promised to them is yet to materialise, though with our ageing population it is needed more than ever.”

A CQC spokesperson said: “We are continuing to prioritise risk-based inspections to ensure our inspection activity is focused where the quality of care is of concern. We expect all adult care services to be providing the very best care to people.

“The majority of care homes in England are Good or Outstanding and this reflects the incredible efforts of carers and providers who have gone above and beyond to provide high quality care. However, where concerns are brought to our attention we will not hesitate to act. We will always follow up on information of concern, and where there is risk we will inspect to ensure that people are safe and receiving high quality care. Where we find people are at risk we will take further regulatory action to ensure people’s safety and human rights are upheld.”