Home care is one of the most difficult areas of social care to monitor, it has been claimed.

Cynthia Bower, the chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, explained that people who use home care services often find themselves in "vulnerable circumstances".

The operation of home care, she observed, is not as transparent as that found in other sectors due to the fact that the interactions usually happen behind closed doors.

"External issues such as pressures on council budgets and the desire of people to remain in their own homes as long as they can, create challenges for those providing services, and may increase risks of unsafe care," the chief executive of the watchdog remarked.

"This underlines the need for us to thoroughly analyse service delivery in this area."

Ms Bower made the remarks as the Care Quality Commission announced plans to conduct as many as 250 inspections of home help agencies.