We are delighted to welcome Katherine Williams from Fulcrum as our penultimate speaker at the Learning Disability Leaders Conference 2026.
Katherine will be presenting on: How to Survive and Thrive in the World of CQC in 2026
A career at the heart of health and social care regulation
Katherine brings a rare combination of clinical, regulatory and strategic expertise to everything she does. She began her career as a nurse and went on to hold senior roles across the NHS before moving into health and social care regulation, where she worked at senior and director level within both the Care Quality Commission and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales.
Her regulatory career has spanned registration, inspection and national clinical director posts, and she has worked within central government leading the reciprocal healthcare agreement for EU exit at DHSC. Katherine has also worked at director level within the private health and social care sector, achieving outstanding results.
Leading at a national and international level
Katherine has led some of the most complex regulatory programmes in recent memory. Perhaps most significantly, she led the development of Europe’s first pandemic inspection methodology and standards for field hospitals and mass vaccination centres. That work was adopted by several UK nations and international countries, and it now features in pandemic planning for the future.
She held the role of National Clinical Director for Wales at HIW, leading their pandemic response, before moving into the role of National Director of Clinical Advice and Governance. Her influence on regulatory practice extends well beyond the UK.
Expert witness and trusted advisor
Katherine is a respected expert witness with experience at pre-trial, trial and tribunal level in regulatory matters. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Chester and a trusted advisor to health and social care organisations navigating inspection, enforcement and registration challenges.
She is also currently writing her first book on regulatory practices in the UK health and social care system, due to be published later in 2026.
Katherine holds Masters level qualifications in business, leadership and law, is studying for an MBA in healthcare leadership, and remains a registered nurse actively practising in frontline healthcare. As she will tell you herself, she is very proud of that.
What to expect from Katherine’s session
CQC continues to evolve its approach and its expectations of providers, and for those leading LD services, keeping pace with that can feel relentless. Katherine’s session will cut through the noise: what is actually happening in regulation in 2026, what inspectors are looking for, and how LD services can not just stay compliant but genuinely demonstrate the quality of what they do.
With her background spanning both sides of the regulatory relationship, as an inspector and as a provider, Katherine brings a perspective very few speakers can offer.
Join Katherine at the conference
The Learning Disability Leaders Conference takes place online on Thursday 18th June 2026, running from 9:30am to 3:20pm. It is completely free to attend, and every session will be recorded and made available afterwards.
How to sign up
The conference is completely free. All you need to do is register using the link below, and we will send you everything you need ahead of the day.
We look forward to seeing you there.