If you are a care provider, this consultation on CQC assessment frameworks is a real opportunity to influence how your service will be assessed in future.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published four draft sector-specific assessment frameworks as part of its move away from the single assessment framework. Crucially, it is asking providers to help shape them before they are finalised.
This matters because the draft frameworks are not just about what services will be inspected against, they also set out the proposed “rating characteristics” that describe what Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate will look like in practice.
That creates a major opportunity for providers to influence not only what inspectors focus on, but also how ratings themselves may be decided in future.
Importantly, CQC is still very much in listening mode. Following the widely criticised rollout of the single assessment framework, the regulator knows it needs to rebuild confidence and get this next phase right. CQC has repeatedly stressed the importance of co-production with providers, people using services and wider stakeholders, which means there has rarely been a better opportunity for the sector to share its views — and have them genuinely listened to.
These frameworks are still drafts, not final decisions. Providers therefore have a genuine chance to influence the outcome while there is still time.
By responding now, providers can help shape:
- What “good” care realistically looks like in practice
- What evidence should be available for CQC to consider
- How simple the revised KLOES are, and ensure that there is clarity and a lack of duplication
- How clear and fair the boundaries are between ratings
- Whether the framework feels proportionate and workable
- How practical, operational issues such as workforce shortages and commissioning challenges are reflected and understood by inspectors
For many providers, one of the biggest frustrations with regulation has been inconsistency and grey areas between ratings, particularly between Good and Requires Improvement. The new rating characteristics provide a rare opportunity to influence how those judgement calls are made.
Just as importantly, providers cannot realistically complain later about frameworks or rating definitions they chose not to help shape when they had the opportunity.
Once these frameworks are finalised, they will become embedded in future inspection activity and much harder to influence. This is the moment where provider voices can still make a difference.
The consultation closes on 12 June 2026, and all the information on how to contribute can be found here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/how-we-involve-you/consultations/give-your-views-draft-sector-specific-assessment-frameworks. Time is running out to respond, so set aside some time to complete the survey because if you want a framework that is clearer, fairer and more grounded in the realities of care delivery, you need to get involved.