Which parts of England have the most “requires improvement” GP practices?
An analysis of the Care Quality Commission’s official ratings for 6,063 GP practices in England, as-of 1 June 2026.
As of 1 June 2026, 253 of 6,063 GP practices in England with an overall CQC rating — 4% — were rated “requires improvement”, and 18 were rated “inadequate”. The remaining 5,787 (95%) were rated good or outstanding. East of England had the highest regional share of “requires improvement” practices at 8%; South West the lowest at 2%.
England GP practices by CQC rating
- Outstanding
- 285 (5%)
- Good
- 5,502 (91%)
- Requires improvement
- 253 (4%)
- Inadequate
- 18 (0%)
- Not rated
- 5 (0%)
Regional league table
Ranked by the share of rated GP practices the CQC marks “requires improvement”. Click a region for its local authority breakdown.
| # | Region | Rated practices | Requires improvement | RI rate | Inadequate | Good / Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East of England | 581 | 44 | 8% | 1 | 92% |
| 2 | East Midlands | 499 | 31 | 6% | 0 | 94% |
| 3 | London | 1,119 | 58 | 5% | 3 | 95% |
| 4 | West Midlands | 719 | 34 | 5% | 2 | 95% |
| 5 | South East | 788 | 28 | 4% | 1 | 96% |
| 6 | North West | 952 | 28 | 3% | 8 | 96% |
| 7 | Yorkshire and The Humber | 583 | 15 | 3% | 1 | 97% |
| 8 | North East | 304 | 7 | 2% | 1 | 97% |
| 9 | South West | 511 | 8 | 2% | 1 | 98% |
| England (all rated practices) | 6,063 | 253 | 4% | 18 | 95% |
How to read this
The CQC rates each registered service on a four-point categorical scale — outstanding, good, requires improvement, inadequate — not a number or star rating. The figures here count the single overall rating per GP practice and exclude non-GP services. A small number of practices are not yet rated.
A “requires improvement” rating does not mean a practice is unsafe; it means the regulator has identified areas it must improve. Ratings change as practices are re-inspected, so a region’s share is a snapshot, not a permanent verdict. To check a specific practice, search it on cqc.org.uk.
Frequently asked questions
How many GP practices in England are rated "requires improvement" by the CQC?
As of 1 June 2026, 253 of 6,063 GP practices with an overall Care Quality Commission rating were rated "requires improvement" — 4% of all rated practices. A further 18 were rated "inadequate". The remaining 5,787 were rated "good" or "outstanding". Figures are from the CQC's official "Care directory with ratings".
Which English region has the highest share of "requires improvement" GP practices?
East of England had the highest share: 44 of 581 rated GP practices (8%) were "requires improvement", as of 1 June 2026. South West had the lowest, at 2%.
What does a "requires improvement" rating mean?
It is one of four overall ratings the CQC gives a service: outstanding, good, requires improvement, or inadequate. "Requires improvement" means the service is not performing as well as it should and the CQC has told it how it must improve. It does not mean the practice is unsafe, but it signals areas the regulator wants addressed.
Are these ratings a score out of five?
No. The CQC uses a categorical scheme — outstanding, good, requires improvement, inadequate — not a numeric or star score. The counts and percentages on this page are real tallies of practices in each band, never an averaged score.
How current is this data and where does it come from?
All figures come from the CQC's "Care directory with ratings" spreadsheet, as-of 1 June 2026, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Each figure counts the single overall rating per GP practice. Ratings change as practices are re-inspected; check cqc.org.uk for the rating of a specific practice.
Source: Care Quality Commission www.cqc.org.uk. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratings are taken from the CQC’s Care directory with ratings (01_June_2026_Latest_ratings.ods, as-of 1 June 2026), published at www.cqc.org.uk. CQC ratings are categorical and change as practices are re-inspected. This analysis is by GeraClinic and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the CQC.