The National Audit Office (NAO) has said in a report that the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which is the body responsible for checking care homes, is underperforming and has not been able to deliver value for money.

The report said that the CQC has reduced inspections of care homes for focusing on efforts on meeting timetables for registering care providers. It also noted that the watchdog has been able to complete less than half of its target number of compliance reviews of standards of care in October 2010 to April 2011 period.

The report also said that it is not clear if the blame for underperformance should be shared by the Department of Health. In the watchdog's defense, the report said that the CQC was established with a low budget of £164 million. The budget was lower than that for three bodies, which were replaced by the CQC in 2009.

The commission was not able to fully recruit staff positions mainly due to restrictions placed by the government. About 14 per cent of the staff positions were vacant and the watchdog was thus underperforming in even utilizing its allotted budget.

Auditor General Amyas Morse said that the CQC has had "an uphill struggle to carry out its work effectively and has experienced serious difficulties". But he added: "It is welcome that it is now taking action to improve its performance." CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower responded to the report by saying that the body now has more than 700 inspectors on the ground to check centers in the country.