# CQC says primary care has more to do on autism and LD training

> A year after the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice, CQC says uptake of required learning disability and autism training is patchy in primary care.

- Published: 14 Sep 2026
- Type: News
- Topic: CQC
- For: Practice managers, PCN leads
- Applies to: England
- Review: Reviewed by the Abtrace team
- Web page: https://ontherecord.abtrace.com/posts/cqc-learning-disability-autism-training/

## What's changed

- On 14 Sept 2026 CQC reviewed progress one year after the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice, which sets out how registered providers should meet the training requirement on learning disability and autism.
- CQC says uptake varies across the country, and that many primary care providers still have much to do to train their staff.
- Registration teams now check this when assessing applications to register.

## Who it affects

All services carrying out a CQC-regulated activity, which includes GP practices in England. PCNs employing staff who see patients should check their own teams too.

## What to do

- Pull a training report for the whole team, including reception and admin staff, and find who has not completed learning disability and autism training.
- Set a plan and dates to close the gaps, and record completion so you can show it at inspection.
- Read CQC's guidance on training staff to support autistic people and people with a learning disability.
- Consider adding practice-specific content, as CQC notes some providers have done to reflect their own setting.

## Sources

- [CQC: Mandatory training requirement on learning disability and autism](https://www.cqc.org.uk/news/mandatory-training-requirement-learning-disability-and-autism)

Published by Abtrace on On the Record (https://ontherecord.abtrace.com/). Summaries only; always check the linked source.