CQC on Track for 9,000 Assessments by September 2026: Is Your Service Ready?

The Acceleration: CQC's 9,000 Assessments Target

In its Business Plan for 2025/26, the CQC publicly committed to completing 9,000 assessments by the end of September 2026. This represents a significant acceleration of inspection activity across all regulated sectors. For adult social care specifically, the target is 5,013 assessments out of the 9,000 total.

What does this mean in practical terms? The CQC has already demonstrated its capability:

• November 2025 saw 50% more inspections compared to November 2024
• Since April 2025, over 5,000 assessments have been completed (11 months)
• The pace has already exceeded what previous CQC resource levels could sustain
• Adult social care services have been prioritised in the acceleration schedule

This isn't aspiration — it's tracked progress. CQC publishes monthly inspection statistics, and the numbers confirm they are delivering on this commitment.

Why Now? The Inspection Backlog Problem

The acceleration wasn't random. It addresses a critical issue: outdated inspection ratings.

Many adult social care services are operating with inspection ratings that are 5, 6, or even 8 years old. Some ratings are based on Single Assessment Framework (SAF) inspections from 2024 or earlier. Others date back to the previous assessment framework. This creates a governance and compliance problem:

• Ratings don't reflect current practice: A service rated in 2019 may have transformed entirely since then
• Leadership has changed: New managers, new systems, new staffing — none reflected in outdated ratings
• Regulatory uncertainty: Services don't know how they will perform against current CQC standards
• Commissioner confidence: Local authorities and NHS commissioners need current, reliable information to place people safely
• Market competition: Outdated ratings disadvantage well-performing services and give false confidence to poorly-performing ones

The CQC's acceleration programme directly addresses this. By completing 9,000 assessments, the regulator is ensuring that most adult social care services have a current rating by 2027.

The Inspection Window: A Dual Regulatory Challenge

Adult social care services face a unique challenge over the next 18 months: you will be inspected under the current Single Assessment Framework (SAF), but the CQC is simultaneously piloting a completely new adult social care-specific framework.

Here's the timeline:

The practical implication: most inspections over the next 18 months will use the current SAF framework. Services inspected in summer 2026 will not yet see the new 24-KLOE framework. However, good practice aligned with the new framework will also be visible under SAF assessment, and it represents future-proofing for 2027 onwards.

Which Services Are Being Inspected First?

The CQC has prioritised services based on several factors:

• Age of last inspection: Services with ratings older than 3–4 years are being prioritised
• Service type: Care homes (residential) are being inspected ahead of domiciliary care
• Previous ratings: Services rated as "Requires Improvement" or "Inadequate" receive more frequent inspection cycles
• Geographic spread: All regions are being covered, though densely-populated areas may see more activity
• Specific concerns: Services with safeguarding issues or staff turnover flagged to commissioners are prioritised

If you haven't been inspected in the last 3 years, you are likely to receive one within the next 12 months.

What CQC Inspectors Will Be Looking For

Under the current SAF framework, inspectors assess services against broad Quality Statements. However, feedback from early SAF use has made inspectors more rigorous about evidence. They will expect:

• Specific, written evidence: Not just verbal assurance that you "do" safeguarding — documented safeguarding policies, incident records, training completion logs
• Practitioner knowledge: Staff should be able to articulate the service's approach during interviews
• Real-time systems: Digital records, care planning tools, and quality monitoring dashboards that show current information (not last year's audit)
• Service user and family feedback: Recent surveys, complaints data, and how the service responds to feedback
• Leadership clarity: Management should articulate vision, values, and how they translate into day-to-day practice
• Continuous improvement: Evidence of reflection, learning from incidents, and demonstrable changes based on experience

The common thread: inspectors want to see that the service understands itself and can evidence that understanding.

Preparing for Inspection: This Year's Critical Actions

With inspection probability increasing monthly, services should treat inspection readiness as an urgent priority. Key preparation steps:

The Bottom Line: Urgency Is Justified

The CQC's acceleration is real and measurable. With 5,000 assessments already completed and 9,000 targeted by September, the odds of inspection this year are higher than ever. The dual challenge — current SAF framework plus incoming 2026 KLOEs framework — means preparation must start now.

Services that prepare now have three advantages:

• They can confidently undergo inspection under current SAF standards
• Good practice aligned with the new KLOEs framework provides future-proofing
• They demonstrate to CQC that they take regulation seriously and are actively improving

The inspection isn't a question of if — it's when. Being ready means you can face that inspection with confidence.