CQC Quality Statements: How the Framework Works Now

CQC quality statements are the 34 "we statements" that sit under the five key questions in CQC's single assessment framework: is a service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led? Each statement describes what good care looks like, and inspectors gather evidence against them. CQC has been piloting draft sector-specific frameworks that would replace them with key lines of enquiry.

Until those new frameworks take effect, the quality statements are still how health and adult social care services in England are assessed. Here's how the current framework works, what's changing and what to do in the meantime.

The five key questions and four ratings

Every CQC assessment still asks the same five questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs and well-led? Each key question, and the service overall, is rated outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

CQC regulates in England only. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regulators, including Care Inspectorate Wales, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland and RQIA in Northern Ireland. Children's homes in England are inspected by Ofsted, not CQC.

What the quality statements are

CQC published its single assessment framework in July 2022 and began assessing providers under it from late 2023, starting in its South region and reaching every region in early 2024. It replaced the old key lines of enquiry (KLOEs) with 34 quality statements spread across the five key questions.

The statements are written from the provider's point of view, which is why CQC calls them "we statements". They sit alongside "I statements" that describe what people using services should expect. Safe, for example, has eight:

• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

The other key questions follow the same pattern. Caring covers kindness, compassion, privacy and dignity. Responsive covers planning care around people's needs, accessible information and acting on feedback. Well-led covers culture, learning and governance. You can read every statement on CQC's single assessment framework pages.

The six evidence categories

Inspectors collect evidence under six categories:

• People's experiences: what people using the service and their families say, including complaints and compliments.
• Feedback from staff and leaders: conversations with your team, from carers to the registered manager.
• Observations of care: what inspectors see, such as how staff support someone at lunch.
• Feedback from partners: for example GPs, community nurses and the local authority.
• Processes: care plans, audits, policies, training records and how they're used.
• Outcomes of care: the results of care, where there's information to show them.

Not every category is used for every statement. CQC publishes which categories it prioritises for each type of service.

How scoring works now

Each quality statement that's assessed gets a score from 1 to 4:

• 4: evidence shows an exceptional standard
• 3: evidence shows a good standard
• 2: evidence shows some shortfalls
• 1: evidence shows significant shortfalls

Since December 2024, CQC scores at quality statement level using professional judgement, rather than scoring each evidence category separately. The statement scores are then combined into a percentage for each key question: 25 to 38% is inadequate, 39 to 62% requires improvement, 63 to 87% good, and 88% and above outstanding.

There are safeguards. A key question in the good range drops to requires improvement if any statement scores 1, and one in the outstanding range is capped at good if any statement scores 1 or 2. CQC explains how it reaches a rating in full.

What's changing: sector-specific frameworks

The single framework has faced criticism. A review by Professor Sir Mike Richards, published in October 2024, found the 34 statements long and in places overlapping, and found little support among CQC staff for scoring each evidence category. CQC then consulted on changes in its Better regulation, better care consultation. In March 2026 it published four draft sector-specific frameworks:

• Adult social care
• Mental health care
• Primary care and community services
• Hospitals (secondary and specialist care)

In the drafts:

• The five key questions stay.
• Key lines of enquiry, written as structured questions, replace the quality statements.
• Rating characteristics describe what outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate look like in that sector.
• Scoring is removed, and ratings are made directly at key question level.

Feedback on the drafts closed on 12 June 2026. CQC is piloting the new approach with volunteer providers of different types and sizes; its June 2026 update set the pilots to run from June to October 2026, alongside existing inspections rather than instead of them, with pilot judgements not affecting a service's rating. CQC hasn't confirmed when the new frameworks will take effect. Until it does, services are assessed under the current framework.

What to do in the meantime

Don't rebuild your whole evidence file around draft KLOEs that may still change. Good evidence now will still be good evidence later, because the five key questions stay. A few things help whichever framework applies:

• Organise evidence by key question. It transfers cleanly if the statements are replaced.
• Keep records that show what really happened. Care plans, daily notes and audits are evidence, so make sure they're current and specific. Our record keeping training covers the day-to-day side.
• Get your team ready to talk. Inspectors speak to staff, and a carer who can explain what they'd do if they were worried about someone carries real weight.
• Watch the culture, not just the paperwork. Services where poor practice goes unchallenged rarely look bad on paper. See closed cultures training.
• Keep training records tidy. Our guide to mandatory training for care workers sets out what CQC expects.
• Read the draft for your sector so nothing surprises you when it lands.

How Kasorb can help

Our CQC assessment framework training explains how CQC assesses health and social care services in England now: the five key questions, the four rating levels, the quality statements and the evidence CQC gathers. It also covers what's changing, including the draft sector-specific frameworks, key lines of enquiry and rating characteristics. Your team works on gathering and organising evidence day to day, preparing to talk to inspectors, and self-assessment and action planning for your own service. It runs as a half day or a full day, on-site or live online, and the full day adds a mock assessment exercise on one key question. Your trainer has used these skills for real. It's quoted for your team at one flat rate for the group, certificates are emailed the next day, and Kasorb is independent of CQC.

This guide summarises the law and guidance; it isn't legal advice.

FAQs

How many CQC quality statements are there?

There are 34 quality statements in CQC's current single assessment framework, spread across the five key questions. Safe has eight, covering areas such as safeguarding, safe and effective staffing, infection prevention and control, and medicines optimisation. CQC plans to replace them with key lines of enquiry in new sector-specific frameworks, but hasn't confirmed when.

Are CQC KLOEs coming back?

In a new form, yes. CQC's draft sector-specific frameworks, published in March 2026, replace the quality statements with key lines of enquiry written as structured questions, plus rating characteristics for each rating level. CQC has been piloting the drafts and hasn't confirmed when they'll take effect. Until then, the current framework applies.

What are the 5 key questions CQC asks?

Is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led? CQC has said the five key questions stay in its new sector-specific frameworks. Each key question, and the service overall, is rated outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

What are CQC's six evidence categories?

People's experiences, feedback from staff and leaders, observations of care, feedback from partners, processes, and outcomes of care. CQC doesn't use every category for every quality statement; it publishes which categories it prioritises for each type of service.

Does CQC still score quality statements?

Under the current framework, yes. Each quality statement assessed is scored from 1 (significant shortfalls) to 4 (exceptional standard), and the scores feed into the key question rating. CQC has decided to remove scoring in its new frameworks, with ratings made directly at key question level, but that change hasn't taken effect yet.