CQC KLOEs Explained: The 24 Original Lines, Their Quality Statement Equivalents and the 2026 Return
What KLOE means, the original adult social care list, how each maps to today’s quality statements (with evidence examples), what rating characteristics and prompts were and what CQC’s 2026 drafts change.
KLOE stands for Key Line of Enquiry: CQC’s original way of breaking each of its five key questions into specific questions inspectors answered. CQC replaced KLOEs with 34 quality statements from late 2023, so today you are assessed against quality statements, not KLOEs. CQC’s March 2026 draft frameworks would bring key lines of enquiry back (24 in the adult social care draft) and remove scoring, but CQC had not confirmed a go-live date at its 27 August 2026 update. If you have an old KLOE-based audit or policy, the crosswalk below shows the nearest current quality statement for each of the 24 original lines.
“KLOE” means two different things right now: the inspection system CQC retired in 2023 to 2024, and a new version CQC is piloting for 2026. If you trained before 2024, or you are reading an older policy or job description, KLOE almost certainly means the original framework. If you have seen it in the news this year, it is probably the 2026 drafts. This guide covers both, lists the original adult social care KLOEs, maps them to today’s quality statements, and sets out which system actually governs your assessments now. The crosswalk is our suggestion and is labelled as such.
Key takeaways
- KLOE means Key Line of Enquiry. The original set was used to answer CQC’s five key questions.
- CQC’s historic adult social care list has 24 KLOEs. Each came with prompts and ratings characteristics.
- Quality statements replaced KLOEs from December 2023, region by region into early 2024.
- CQC’s March 2026 drafts bring back key lines of enquiry (24 in the adult social care draft) and remove scoring.
- No go-live date was confirmed at CQC’s 27 August 2026 update, so quality statements still apply.
In this guide
- What is a KLOE?
- Does CQC still use KLOEs?
- The original adult social care KLOEs
- KLOE to quality statement crosswalk, with evidence examples
- KLOE prompts and rating characteristics
- How quality statements replaced KLOEs (2023 to 2024)
- Why KLOE is back in the news in 2026
- What happens next, and what to do now
- Sources and how this was checked
- Frequently asked questions
What is a KLOE?
CQC’s original framework organised every inspection around the same five key questions it still uses: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led? Under each key question sat a set of key lines of enquiry, the specific questions inspectors set out to answer. CQC’s historic guidance says KLOEs, prompts and sources of evidence helped inspectors answer the five key questions (CQC: Key lines of enquiry for adult social care services). Each came with:
- Prompts: more detailed sub-questions telling inspectors what to look for or ask about.
- Ratings characteristics: descriptions of what Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate looked like for each key question.
- Sources of evidence: what inspectors looked at against each KLOE, and a mapping of KLOEs to the regulations CQC enforces.
Adult social care and healthcare services had their own sets. CQC still hosts both as historic guidance: adult social care (page dated 13 July 2022) and healthcare.
Does CQC still use KLOEs?
Not as the live system. CQC replaced KLOEs with 34 quality statements under the single assessment framework, introduced from December 2023. The five key questions stayed. CQC’s 2026 draft frameworks would bring key lines of enquiry back in place of quality statements, but they are not in force, and current guidance applies until CQC implements the new approach. See the 5 CQC key questions for how the key questions fit with everything else.
The original adult social care KLOEs
CQC’s historic adult social care page lists these 24 lines of enquiry under the five key questions (topic names as CQC lists them):
| Key question | KLOEs (number) | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Is it safe? | 6 | Safeguarding and protection from abuse; managing risks; suitable staff and staff cover; medicines management; infection control; learning when things go wrong |
| Is it effective? | 7 | Assessing needs and delivering evidence-based treatment; staff skills and knowledge; nutrition and hydration; how staff, teams and services work together; supporting people to live healthier lives; accessible premises; consent to care and treatment |
| Is it caring? | 3 | Kindness, respect and compassion; involving people in decisions about their care; privacy and dignity |
| Is it responsive? | 3 | Person-centred care; concerns and complaints; end of life care |
| Is it well-led? | 5 | Vision and strategy; governance and management; engagement and involvement; learning, improvement and innovation; working in partnership |
You may see KLOEs referred to by letter and number codes, such as S1 or W2. Sources differ on the exact codes and on which lines counted as mandatory, so use CQC’s own historic documents if you need the precise wording.
KLOE to quality statement crosswalk, with evidence examples
CQC has not, that we could find, published an official crosswalk, so this table is our suggested mapping by topic. It is useful if you hold audits, policies or evidence files organised by the old KLOEs. The evidence column is also ours. See the full list of the 34 quality statements.
| Original KLOE topic | Nearest current quality statement(s) | Evidence you might hold |
|---|---|---|
| Safe: Safeguarding and protection from abuse | Safeguarding | Safeguarding log, referrals, training records |
| Safe: Managing risks | Involving people to manage risks; Safe environments | Risk assessments, premises and equipment checks |
| Safe: Suitable staff and staff cover | Safe and effective staffing | Rotas, dependency or visit data, recruitment files |
| Safe: Medicines management | Medicines optimisation | MAR records, medicines audits, error log |
| Safe: Infection control | Infection prevention and control | IPC audits and training |
| Safe: Learning when things go wrong | Learning culture | Incident reviews, lessons learned |
| Effective: Assessing needs and evidence-based treatment | Assessing needs; Delivering evidence-based care and treatment | Assessments, care plans, tools used |
| Effective: Staff skills and knowledge | Safe and effective staffing | Training matrix, supervision, competency checks |
| Effective: Nutrition and hydration | No separate statement; sits within evidence-based care, and Regulation 14 still applies | Food and fluid records, screening tools |
| Effective: How staff, teams and services work together | How staff, teams and services work together | Professional contact records, handovers |
| Effective: Supporting people to live healthier lives | Supporting people to live healthier lives | Health plans, activity and screening records |
| Effective: Accessible premises | Safe environments (and Regulation 15) | Environment audits, adaptations |
| Effective: Consent to care and treatment | Consent to care and treatment | Consent and capacity records |
| Caring: Kindness, respect and compassion | Kindness, compassion and dignity | Observation notes, feedback |
| Caring: Involving people in decisions | Treating people as individuals; Independence, choice and control | Care plan reviews with people, choice records |
| Caring: Privacy and dignity | Kindness, compassion and dignity | Dignity audits, observation |
| Responsive: Person-centred care | Person-centred care | Personalised care plans, reviews |
| Responsive: Concerns and complaints | Listening to and involving people | Complaints log, outcomes and learning |
| Responsive: End of life care | Planning for the future | Advance care plans, end of life records |
| Well-led: Vision and strategy | Shared direction and culture | Statement of purpose, business plan |
| Well-led: Governance and management | Governance, management and sustainability | Audit schedule, governance minutes, action log |
| Well-led: Engagement and involvement | Listening to and involving people; Freedom to speak up; Partnerships and communities | Surveys, staff meetings, feedback logs |
| Well-led: Learning, improvement and innovation | Learning, improvement and innovation | Improvement plans, evidence of change |
| Well-led: Working in partnership | Partnerships and communities | Partner feedback, joint working records |
Use the free mock inspection template for a scored check against the current 34 quality statements, rather than the retired KLOEs.
KLOE prompts and rating characteristics
Prompts were the detailed sub-questions inspectors used under each KLOE, such as what to look for or ask. Rating characteristics described what Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate looked like for a key question, and inspectors used them with professional judgement to reach ratings. CQC has said its 2026 drafts re-introduce rating characteristics for each key question, so the phrase “KLOE characteristics” is coming back into use. CQC’s historic page offers downloadable KLOEs and ratings characteristics for adult social care, sources of evidence and a mapping of KLOEs to regulations.
How quality statements replaced KLOEs (2023 to 2024)
CQC introduced its single assessment framework from December 2023, starting in its South region with volunteer early adopters and extending region by region into early 2024. In place of KLOEs, prompts and ratings characteristics it introduced 34 quality statements, written as “we” commitments from the provider’s perspective. It scores each statement it assesses from 1 to 4 and builds those into key question percentages and ratings. CQC says that since 2 December 2024 it scores at quality statement level only, and no longer scores at the level of the six evidence categories.
| Original KLOEs | Current quality statements | 2026 draft key lines of enquiry | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | Sector-specific sets of questions | One framework across sectors | Sector-specific frameworks again |
| Number (adult social care) | 24 in CQC’s historic list | 34 | 24 in the draft |
| Format | Questions with prompts | “We” statements | Questions with rating characteristics |
| How ratings are reached | Ratings characteristics and professional judgement | Scores from 1 to 4 per statement, converted to key question percentages | Ratings awarded directly at key question level, no scoring (draft) |
Why KLOE is back in the news in 2026
In March 2026 CQC published its initial response to its “Better regulation, better care” consultation, together with four draft sector-specific assessment frameworks. It said it will make five changes: re-introduce sector-specific frameworks, re-introduce rating characteristics, change quality statements into supporting key lines of enquiry, remove scoring, and award ratings directly at key question level.
The draft adult social care framework lists 24 key lines of enquiry, each written as a question, with rating characteristics for all four ratings under each one: seven under Safe, four under Effective, three under Caring, four under Responsive and six under Well-led. Fewer, broader lines replace the 34 quality statements, so some current statements are merged or folded in. Our guide to CQC’s new assessment framework for 2026 lists all 24 draft lines.
What happens next, and what to do now
Feedback on the drafts closed on 12 June 2026. CQC has been running pilots from June to October 2026, with evaluation in November. Pilots run alongside existing inspections, are voluntary and do not affect ratings. On 27 August 2026 CQC said testing was continuing and that it planned further sector-specific engagement in the autumn. It has said the new approach will be implemented later this year but has not confirmed a date. Until then, quality statements under the current framework remain what your service is assessed against.
There is no reason to hold off on current compliance work. Evidence organised by key question and regulation carries over whichever framework applies, and many themes in the draft, such as safeguarding, governance, staffing, consent and person-centred care, mirror themes in the current quality statements.
Sources and how this was checked
- CQC: Key lines of enquiry for adult social care services (historic, page dated 13 July 2022) and the historic healthcare equivalent.
- CQC: Initial response to the Better regulation, better care consultation (March 2026); Update to our current scoring approach; Rebuilding our regulatory approach and digital services (27 August 2026).
The crosswalk and evidence examples are our suggestions, not an official CQC mapping.
Keep improvement work on track through the change
CQCLogic organises improvement plan actions by CQC’s key questions, with owners, deadlines and evidence tracked against each action. Enter your Location ID to get started free, or view a sample improvement plan. See a sample improvement plan, view pricing or get started free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does KLOE stand for?
KLOE stands for Key Line of Enquiry. It was CQC’s original system of breaking each of its five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led) into specific inspection questions, each with prompts and ratings characteristics.
Does CQC still use KLOEs?
Not as the live system. CQC replaced KLOEs with 34 quality statements from December 2023. It plans to bring key lines of enquiry back in new sector frameworks, which it is piloting, but had not confirmed a date at 27 August 2026.
What are the 5 KLOEs in CQC?
There are five key questions, not five KLOEs: safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. Each key question had several KLOEs under it. CQC’s historic adult social care list has 24 in total.
What have KLOEs been replaced with?
Quality statements. There are 34 across the five key questions, written as “we” commitments and scored from 1 to 4 per statement. See our full list of quality statements.
What is the difference between KLOEs, prompts and ratings characteristics?
A KLOE is the line of enquiry. Prompts are the detailed sub-questions inspectors used under it. Ratings characteristics describe what each of the four ratings looked like for a key question.
What are KLOE characteristics?
They are CQC’s ratings characteristics: descriptions of what Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate look like for each key question. CQC’s 2026 drafts re-introduce them.
What are examples of KLOEs?
Examples from CQC’s adult social care list include safeguarding and protection from abuse, medicines management, consent to care and treatment, person-centred care, concerns and complaints, and governance and management. Our crosswalk lists all 24 with the nearest current quality statements.
Is there a KLOE template I can use?
CQC has retired the KLOEs, so a new template should follow the current quality statements. Our free mock inspection template covers all 34. If your files are organised by KLOE, use the crosswalk on this page to map them.
How many KLOEs are in the new draft framework?
The draft adult social care framework lists 24 key lines of enquiry: seven under Safe, four under Effective, three under Caring, four under Responsive and six under Well-led, each with rating characteristics.
When will the new 2026 KLOEs take effect?
CQC has not confirmed a date. It said on 26 May 2026 that the new approach would be implemented later this year, announced pilots from June to October 2026 with evaluation in November, and said on 27 August that testing continued with further engagement planned for the autumn.
Do quality statements still matter if KLOEs are coming back?
Yes. Quality statements are what CQC assesses providers against today, and CQC says current guidance applies until the new approach is implemented. Evidence organised by key question and regulation will carry over to either framework.