Personal care: Personal care is the regulated activity of providing physical assistance with, or prompting and supervising, things like washing, dressing, eating and using the toilet, where the person cannot do them unaided.
It is the activity that brings most domiciliary agencies and supported living services into CQC registration, and it is the one most often misjudged.
Prompting and supervising count, not just hands-on help. A service that never physically touches anyone can still be providing personal care if staff supervise someone through washing or dressing because they could not manage it alone.
Companionship, housework, shopping and social support are not personal care on their own. A service that genuinely provides only those does not need to register, but the moment it starts helping someone wash or take medication the position changes, and it changes on the day the task starts rather than when the paperwork catches up.