Last Updated on March 26, 2026

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published an initial four draft sector-specific assessment frameworks. This is following a consultation at the end of last year, where the organisation consulted on its proposals to evolve and improve its approach to assessing and rating health and social care providers.

The consultation, named Better regulation, better care, included proposals on moving away from a single assessment framework to separate frameworks that are more specific and relevant to the health and care sectors the CQC regulates.

After considering the responses and feedback to the proposals, which according to the CQC were largely positive, the organisation has developed an initial four draft sector specific assessment frameworks for:

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

The CQC states that its five key questions (Is the service safe? Effective? Caring? Responsive? Well-led?) remain fundamental to assessment, however they will now be supported by key lines of enquiry and rating characteristics.

The CQC held online and in-person engagement sessions, where it asked people what they thought good quality care looks like. The organisation argues that the answers enabled it to develop rating characteristics that describe care under a rating of good.

The CQC states that feedback from the consultation also showed support for its proposal to remove scoring from the CQC assessment methodology and make rating judgements directly at key question level. As such, the rating characteristics will support this change.

Commenting on the publication of the draft assessment frameworks, Robyn Drury, Head of Operations, Inspections and Support at Care 4 Quality by WorkNest, said, ‘The CQC’s release of the sector-specific assessment frameworks feels like a positive and much-needed step in the right direction. It’s something that’s been widely called for across the sector, with providers asking for more clarity, consistency and a more proportionate approach to regulation. It’s encouraging to see those concerns being heard and acted upon.

‘Separate frameworks that better reflect the realities of different care settings, along with clearer expectations of what "good" looks like, should help services spend less time interpreting requirements and more time focusing on delivering high-quality care to the people they support.

‘As the consultation progresses, it’s vital that all stakeholders get involved and share their feedback. Being part of the process will help ensure the final approach is fair, proportionate, and genuinely useful - both in shaping how inspections are carried out in the future and in supporting services to improve the care they deliver.’

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said, ‘There are some sensible steps here. Moving back to sector-specific frameworks is the right decision and reflects what providers have been calling for. Clearer lines of enquiry should also help bring more focus to inspections.

‘However, the removal of scoring is a concern. It risks creating a system where ratings are less stable and harder to compare, with greater reliance on individual judgement. That makes it more difficult for providers to understand what sits behind a rating and how decisions are being made.

‘If CQC is placing greater weight on professional judgement, it must be clear how that judgement is applied in practice. Providers need confidence that ratings are consistent, that thresholds between ratings are understood and that similar services will receive similar outcomes.

'Providers need to be able to look at a rating and understand exactly why it has been given. They also need confidence that the same standards are being applied across the board. If that is not there, the ratings system becomes harder to rely on.’

The four draft frameworks are available to view here.

In other news, the third annual PA consulting and TEC Services Association (TSA) study claims a lack of data-driven change threatens the sector’s progress.