CQC well-led: the 8 quality statements, the evidence for each, and what outstanding takes

The regulator hasn’t published a mapping between the quality statements and the draft topics. The right-hand column is our reading of each draft topic’s scope, the same reading as our CQC framework crosswalk.

Each quality statement below starts with CQC’s own wording, then what it means in practice and examples of the evidence to have ready. Each one also lists the regulations behind it, and Regulation 17, good governance, sits under six of the eight. Our guide to clinical governance and Regulation 17 covers what the regulation requires and how to run it.

1. Shared direction and culture

“We have a shared vision, strategy and culture. This is based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and our communities in order to meet these.”

What it means: staff in every area know the vision, values and strategy, and how their own role helps achieve them. The strategy came from a structured planning process with people who use the service, staff and partners. Leaders know the risks to delivering it and keep a plan to deal with them.

Evidence to have ready:

• The written vision, values and strategy, with a record of how people who use the service, staff and partners shaped them
• Staff survey results or supervision notes that show staff can explain the vision and their part in it
• A plan for the risks to delivering the strategy, with dated progress reviews
• Workforce equality data, and the actions taken where it shows inequality

In the draft frameworks: strategic direction. Regulations: 10 (dignity and respect), 12 (safe care and treatment) and 17 (good governance), with 9 (person-centred care) to consider.

2. Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders

“We have inclusive leaders at all levels who understand the context in which we deliver care, treatment and support and embody the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. They have the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They do so with integrity, openness and honesty.”

What it means: leaders have the experience, capacity and integrity to deliver the vision and manage risk. They’re visible, lead by example and model inclusive behaviour. Safe, fair recruitment and succession planning keep leadership strong, and leaders deal quickly with any poor culture.

Evidence to have ready:

• Fit and proper person checks for directors and senior leaders
• A leadership structure that shows who is accountable for what
• Leaders’ appraisals, supervision and development records
• A succession plan for key roles
• Examples of leaders spotting poor culture, what they did and what changed

In the draft frameworks: capable and compassionate leaders. Regulations: 6 (where the provider is an organisation), 7 (registered managers), 18 (staffing) and 19 (fit and proper persons employed), with 4 (individual and partnership providers) and 5 (fit and proper persons: directors) to consider.

3. Freedom to speak up

“We foster a positive culture where people feel that they can speak up and that their voice will be heard.”

What it means: leaders encourage staff to raise concerns, and staff trust that leaders will listen. The service supports people who speak up, including external whistleblowers, and protects them from detriment. Leaders investigate sensitively and confidentially, share the lessons and act on them. When something goes wrong, people receive a sincere and timely apology.

Evidence to have ready:

• A speaking-up and whistleblowing policy, and how staff learn about it (our guide to writing a whistleblowing policy covers what goes in one)
• The name of the Freedom to Speak Up guardian, or another named person staff can go to (our Freedom to Speak Up guide covers who needs a guardian and what changed in 2026)
• A log of the concerns staff raised: how the service looked into each one, what it told the person and what changed
• Staff survey results on whether staff feel safe to speak up
• Records of the apologies given when things went wrong, and the actions that followed

In the draft frameworks: workforce equity and culture, with raising safety concerns under safety culture. Regulations: 10, 12 and 17, with 9 to consider.

4. Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion

“We value diversity in our workforce. We work towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who work for us.”

What it means: leaders act where staff with protected characteristics, or from excluded and marginalised groups, have a worse experience, and they check whether the action worked. They remove bias from recruitment and employment practices, prevent and deal with bullying and harassment, and make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff.

Evidence to have ready:

• Workforce data by protected characteristic across recruitment, progression and disciplinary cases, and what you did about any gaps
• Bullying and harassment cases, how the service handled each one and what changed (our guide to the duty to prevent sexual harassment sets out the legal duty)
• Records of reasonable adjustments made for disabled staff
• Wellbeing and flexible working arrangements, and how staff use them
• Workforce Race Equality Standard and Workforce Disability Equality Standard returns, and gender pay gap reports, where they apply

In the draft frameworks: workforce equity and culture. Regulations: 17 and 18.

5. Governance, management and sustainability

“We have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. We use these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. We act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and we share this securely with others when appropriate.”

What it means: governance, management and accountability are clear, staff understand their roles, and managers can account for the actions and performance of staff. Systems manage current and future risks to quality. Data and notifications reach external organisations as required, records are secure and reliable, and leaders use information to monitor and improve care.

Evidence to have ready:

• A governance structure: who reviews quality, safety and risk, how often, and the minutes and actions from those meetings
• A risk register with an owner, a review date and actions for each risk
• An audit programme, with findings and completed actions
• A log of the statutory notifications sent to CQC (our guide to CQC notifications lists each one and its deadline)
• Data security arrangements, including the Data Security and Protection Toolkit where it applies, and records management
• Business continuity and emergency plans, including for severe weather
• The current CQC rating, displayed as Regulation 20A requires

In the draft frameworks: governance and management for adult social care; the other three drafts split it into governance, and management of risk, performance and issues. Regulations: 17 and 20A (display of performance assessments), with 12 to consider.

6. Partnerships and communities

“We understand our duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so our services work seamlessly for people. We share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement.”

What it means: staff and leaders work openly with other organisations and agencies, so people get joined-up care. They share learning with people, communities and partners, and use those networks to find better ways of working.

Evidence to have ready:

• Notes from meetings with partners, such as the local authority, GPs and NHS services, and the actions agreed
• Examples of learning shared with partners, or taken from them, and the change it led to
• How people who use the service and the local community help shape it
• Feedback from partners about working with you

In the draft frameworks: partnerships and communities, unchanged. Regulations: 12 and 17, with 9 (person-centred care) to consider.

7. Learning, improvement and innovation

“We focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across our organisation and the local system. We encourage creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. We actively contribute to safe, effective practice and research.”

What it means: staff and leaders know how to make improvement happen and measure its impact. People who use the service, their families and carers help develop and judge improvements. The service learns when things go wrong and from good practice, and leaders make time to hear staff ideas.

Evidence to have ready:

• Improvement projects with a starting measure, the change made and the measured result
• A lessons-learned log from incidents, complaints and audits, showing what each changed
• Examples of people and families taking part in improvement work
• Staff suggestions, and what happened to them
• Involvement in research or improvement networks, and learning from deaths reviews where they apply

In the draft frameworks: improvement, innovation and learning, with the same scope. Regulations: 17, with 16 (complaints) to consider.

8. Environmental sustainability, sustainable development

“We understand any negative impact of our activities on the environment and we strive to make a positive contribution in reducing it and support people to do the same.”

What it means: staff and leaders understand climate change as a threat to health, keep a green plan and work to make their settings low carbon, energy efficient and less wasteful.

Evidence to have ready:

• A green plan or carbon reduction plan, with actions and dates
• The energy, travel and waste measures taken, such as recycling and lower-carbon choices
• How staff learn to reduce the service’s environmental impact

In the draft frameworks: left out of adult social care; part of strategic direction for mental health, primary care and community services, and hospitals.

Our guide to the CQC safe key question covers its eight quality statements the same way.

The draft frameworks describe each rating for each topic, in what CQC calls rating characteristics. The regulator wrote them by first asking people what good care looks like, then describing the other ratings around that. They’re drafts and may change before they start. They’re also the plainest account yet of what CQC will look for.

The lines below come from the adult social care draft, version 9. The mental health, primary care and community services, and hospitals drafts ask some questions in different words, and each topic lists more characteristics than we quote here.

Strategic direction

CQC’s question: “Is there a clear vision and strategy to support the current and future needs of people and promote a positive culture?”

Good:

• “Leaders promote a shared vision and strategy that staff and people understand and support.”
• “The vision, values, and strategy have been developed through structured planning and co-production with people who use the service, staff and partners.”

Outstanding:

• “Staff are proud of the service as a place to work and speak highly of its culture, vision and values.”
• “Strategic plans are ambitious, challenging and innovative as well as being realistic and achievable.”

Workforce equity and culture

CQC’s question: “Is there an inclusive and compassionate culture that values diversity, supports staff wellbeing and speaking up, and tackles workforce inequalities?”

Good:

• “Leaders of the service set and review their performance against equality, diversity and inclusion objectives.”
• “Staff and volunteers are actively encouraged to give feedback, raise concerns, and contribute to improvements through formal speaking up processes.”

Outstanding:

• “Staff wellbeing is a strategic priority, with programmes in place to promote and support it.”
• “Leaders can demonstrate the positive outcomes and impacts of the actions they have taken to reduce identified workforce inequalities.”

Capable and compassionate leaders

CQC’s question: “Do leaders at all levels have the capability and experience to lead effectively and deliver high-quality care, with accountability, integrity and empathy?”

Good:

• “People say the service is well-led, with leaders who are approachable and responsive.”
• “Where required, there is a registered manager in post.”

Outstanding:

• “Leaders model empathy, active listening, and inclusive decision-making.”
• “There is a deeply embedded system of leadership development and succession planning.”

Governance and management

CQC’s question: “Are there clear roles, responsibilities and systems of accountability to support good governance and manage risks, performance and issues?”

Good:

• “Data or notifications are consistently submitted to external partners as required.”
• “The service has an accurate statement of purpose that clearly reflects current service provision.”
• “There are thorough business continuity plans in place for emergencies or natural disasters, such as adverse weather events, and staff know how to put these into practice.”

Outstanding:

• “Governance arrangements are proactively reviewed and reflect good practice.”
• “The service has well-designed, good practice information systems and processes. These provide reliable, timely and relevant information which is used in reporting, performance management and care delivery, facilitating improvement and innovation.”

The other three drafts split this topic in two. Governance asks: “Are there clear roles, responsibilities and systems of accountability to support good governance?” Management of risk, performance and issues asks: “Are there clear and effective processes for managing risks, performance and issues?”

Partnerships and communities

CQC’s question: “Is the service working effectively and collaboratively with people who use the service and partners to support care provision and service development?”

Good:

• “Staff and leaders work in partnership with people and other organisations, so that services work as seamlessly as possible for people.”
• “The service maintains positive relationships with the local community and works well with community partners.”

Outstanding:

• “Co-production is embedded in the service’s culture, with diverse voices actively shaping decisions.”
• “The service is embedded in the community it serves and is considered a valued partner by others in the community.”

Improvement, innovation and learning

CQC’s question: “Does the service enable and embed continuous improvement, innovation and learning, using evidence and lived experience?”

Good:

• “Learning is a continuous part of improvement and innovation, including good and poor outcomes for people and the impact.”
• “Staff and leaders engage with external work, including research, and embed evidence-based good practice in the service.”

Outstanding:

• “There is a fully embedded and systematic approach to quality improvement, which leaders understand is key to delivering high-quality care.”
• “Rigorous and constructive challenge from people who use services and stakeholders is welcomed and seen as a vital way of holding the service to account.”