CQC's New Assessment Framework 2026: What Care Providers Need to Know

In March 2026 CQC opened a consultation on four new sector-specific assessment frameworks to replace the single assessment framework. The five key questions and four ratings stay. The 34 quality statements are being replaced by key lines of enquiry, and CQC plans to bring the new frameworks into use from the end of 2026.

This article summarises what is changing and what care providers can do now. Always check cqc.org.uk for CQC's latest position, as details may change after consultation.

What is changing?

CQC's draft proposals include:

• Four sector-specific frameworks covering adult social care, mental health, primary and community care, and hospitals, instead of one framework for every type of service
• Key lines of enquiry (KLOEs) under each key question, replacing the 34 quality statements; the adult social care draft includes 24
• Rating characteristics describing what each rating looks like at key question level
• No numerical scoring of evidence categories; CQC has said future ratings will be made holistically using professional judgement informed by evidence

What is staying the same?

The five key questions remain: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led? The four ratings of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate also remain, as do the fundamental standards set out in the regulations.

Timeline

• 24 March 2026: consultation on the draft frameworks opened
• 12 June 2026: consultation closed
• Summer 2026: pilots and a final framework
• End of 2026: planned implementation

What does this mean for care providers?

For most providers, the practical message is that inspectors will continue to test whether care is safe and well-led in daily practice. A move away from scoring towards professional judgement puts even more weight on what inspectors see and hear: how staff talk about safeguarding, how people living with dementia experience care, and whether leaders genuinely know their service.

What should you do now?

1. Keep the five key questions at the centre of your governance. They are not changing.
2. Focus on practice, not paperwork. Check that staff can explain your safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act and restrictive practice policies in their own words.
3. Review your last inspection report. Show sustained progress against every concern raised.
4. Watch for the final adult social care framework and its key lines of enquiry, and map your audits to them once published.
5. Test your readiness. Our free CQC inspection readiness checklist covers safeguarding, the Mental Capacity Act, dementia care and governance.

Want an independent view?

A PMH CQC mock inspection tests your safeguarding, dementia care and governance the way an inspector might, then agrees a short list of priorities with you. Whatever the framework, inspectors still test whether practice matches policy.

Frequently asked questions

Are the CQC quality statements being scrapped? Under CQC's 2026 draft proposals, the 34 quality statements are replaced by key lines of enquiry. Check cqc.org.uk for the final position.

Are the five key questions changing? No. Safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led remain in the draft frameworks.

When will the new CQC framework start? CQC has said it plans to implement the new frameworks from the end of 2026, following pilots.