CQC’s New Inspection Framework 2026: What’s Changing for Care Providers

CQC’s New Inspection Framework 2026: What’s Changing for Care Providers

CQC is replacing the Single Assessment Framework with sector-specific frameworks, bringing back key lines of enquiry and removing scoring. Here is what CQC has actually confirmed, what is still open, and what to do in the meantime.

CQC is replacing its Single Assessment Framework with separate sector frameworks. For adult social care, the draft swaps the 34 quality statements for 24 key lines of enquiry, adds rating characteristics for each rating level, and removes scoring so ratings are judged directly at key question level. It is not in force yet: CQC is piloting the drafts, has not confirmed a go-live date, and says current guidance applies until it does.

If you manage or own a care service, you have probably seen headlines about KLOEs returning and scoring disappearing. This guide sets out what CQC has confirmed on its own website, what is still undecided, and how to prepare without rebuilding your compliance work. Every date and claim below comes from CQC’s own pages, listed under Sources, and we flag where a point is our reading rather than CQC’s words.

You may see this called the “new inspection framework”. CQC’s own term is the assessment framework: inspections are one way CQC gathers evidence for its assessments and ratings. As of 26 October 2026, the latest framework update on CQC’s “Improving how we work” page is dated 27 August 2026, and we found no final frameworks or go-live date published since.

What Is Confirmed and What Is Still Open

CQC’s initial response to its consultation, published in March 2026, sets out five changes it says it will make. The details of how they will work are still being tested.

The last row matters most. In the CQC pages we reviewed, we found no confirmed start date for the new approach, and CQC’s own assessment guidance page still describes the current framework.

The Timeline So Far

Two points stand out. CQC’s November 2025 plan aimed to publish final frameworks over the summer, but its 27 August update describes continued testing and further engagement, and we found no final framework. And the pilots are designed to test the new approach before it “goes live across all services”, so treat late 2026 as a possibility, not a promise.

What Changes and What Stays the Same

For how today’s scoring works in detail, see our guide to improving your CQC rating, and for the terminology see What Are CQC KLOEs? and the full list of the 34 quality statements.

The 24 Draft Key Lines of Enquiry for Adult Social Care

CQC’s draft adult social care framework (version 9) lists 24 key lines of enquiry, each written as a question. Under each one, the draft gives the topics in scope and rating characteristics for all four ratings. The topic names below are taken from the draft:

Some observations from reading the draft, which are our reading rather than CQC’s:

• Fewer, broader lines. Twenty-four replace 34, so several current statements are merged or folded in. For example, safe environments and infection prevention and control now share one line, and raising safety concerns sits within safety culture.
• Each key question opens with a plain statement and “I statements”. Safe begins “You are protected from abuse and avoidable harm”, followed by statements written from the point of view of the person receiving care.
• Environmental sustainability is deliberately left out. CQC says more work is needed to build an evidence-based approach and it will return to it in future versions.
• The draft flags open areas. CQC names areas such as timely and equitable access as needing further consideration, so wording may change.
• Rating characteristics are specific. One draft Inadequate characteristic under leadership describes a service with no registered manager despite the requirement and limited evidence of timely action to recruit or secure cover. See changing your registered manager.

You can read the drafts yourself on CQC’s draft frameworks page.

What Removing Scoring Means for Your Rating

Under today’s guidance, the mechanics of a rating come from scoring: each statement is scored, key questions convert to a percentage, and rules such as the “score of 1” cap limit the result. If scoring is removed, those mechanics go with it, and CQC says future rating judgements will be made holistically by inspection teams using the rating characteristics and supporting guidance.

Three practical consequences follow, which are our interpretation:

• The percentage targets stop being useful. Advice built around reaching 63%, or removing every statement scored 1, will need to become advice about matching the rating characteristics for Good.
• Consistency of evidence matters more. With no arithmetic to fall back on, inspectors weigh the whole picture, so a service whose records, staff accounts and observed practice agree will present most clearly.
• The bar for Good is unchanged in spirit. CQC’s own page on assessment frameworks says that to be rated Good, providers need to demonstrate that they are doing more than the minimum requirements set out in regulations.

CQC’s initial response does not say how the key question ratings will combine into an overall rating under the new approach, so avoid assuming today’s aggregation rules will carry over.

How This Affects Ratings and Re-inspection Now

Nothing about the new frameworks changes how you are rated today. Assessments carried out now follow current guidance, and CQC says pilots do not affect ratings. Your next real rating is likely to follow whichever approach is live when CQC assesses you.

CQC’s 26 May 2026 update also explains how it is deciding whom to assess first. In adult social care it is prioritising services where inspection teams have identified urgent or emerging risks, services registered but never assessed, and services with ratings more than six years old. It also said it would shortly roll out a lighter approach for services rated Good in all five key questions, with a registered manager, a rating over six years old, no significant risk in its data and no enforcement action.

If you are recovering from a poor rating, do not wait for the new framework. Fix the underlying problems now: see how to improve a CQC rating from Inadequate to Good and what a Requires Improvement rating means.

What to Do Now: A Practical Checklist

1. Keep working to current guidance. CQC has said so explicitly. Quality statements and evidence categories still apply.
2. Tag evidence by key question and regulation first. Those two labels survive the change. Add the quality statement as a secondary label, and it can be swapped for a key line of enquiry later without rebuilding.
3. Read the draft rating characteristics for your service. They describe Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate in more concrete terms than any current guidance, so they make a useful self-check now.
4. Test yourself against real questions. Use our mock CQC inspection questions and self-assessment tool.
5. Strengthen governance and the audit loop. Audit, act and re-audit is what any framework rewards. Start with the audit schedule and governance meeting agenda.
6. Treat pilot invitations carefully. They are voluntary and do not affect your rating, so decide on the value of the feedback rather than fear of consequences.
7. Watch CQC’s updates. Its improvement updates and bulletins are where any go-live date will appear first. We will update this page when that happens.

Summary: The 2026 Framework Change at a Glance

1. CQC has confirmed it will move to sector-specific frameworks with rating characteristics, key lines of enquiry and no scoring.
2. The draft adult social care framework has 24 key lines of enquiry replacing 34 quality statements.
3. The five key questions, four ratings and the regulations stay the same.
4. Pilots run June to October 2026 with evaluation in November. They do not affect ratings.
5. No go-live date has been confirmed, and current guidance still applies.
6. Organise evidence by key question and regulation, and keep improving now.

Sources: CQC: Initial response to the consultation (25 Mar 2026) · CQC: Our March update (24 Mar 2026) · CQC: Draft sector-specific assessment frameworks · CQC: Better regulation, better care consultation · CQC: Our improvement plans for 2026 · CQC: Priorities update (26 May 2026) · CQC: Pilots update (4 Jun 2026) · CQC: August update (27 Aug 2026) · CQC: Purpose of assessment frameworks · CQC: Current assessment guidance