CQC is responsible for making sure that health and care service providers, and other regulators, maintain a safe environment for the management and use of controlled drugs in England. We do this under the UK Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations 2013. The responsibilities under these regulations include reporting every year about what we find through our oversight. We use this information, along with our regulatory activities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to make recommendations to help ensure that the arrangements for managing controlled drugs safely in England continue to be effective.

The information in this report is important for:

• all controlled drugs accountable officers (CDAOs) in England and their support teams
• organisations that manage controlled drugs
• health and care professionals with an interest or remit in controlled drugs
• commissioners of health and care services
• professional healthcare and regulatory bodies
• police controlled drugs liaison officers.

Data in this annual update relates to the calendar year 2023, but we also include relevant information for the first part of 2024.