CQC quality statements explained

What a quality statement is

Each statement is written as a short commitment in the words of the provider — for example, a statement about safeguarding says the service works to make sure people are protected from abuse and neglect. Alongside them sit 'I' statements describing what a person using the service should be able to say about their care. Together they describe the standard, and CQC then looks for evidence that the standard is met in practice.

How the statements are grouped

Every statement belongs to one of the five key questions, which is how ratings are still published. Knowing the grouping helps you see where your evidence is thin.

• Safe — safeguarding, involving people in risk, safe environments, safe staffing, medicines, infection prevention, learning from incidents
• Effective — assessing needs, delivering evidence-based care, how staff work together, supporting people to live healthier lives, consent and the Mental Capacity Act
• Caring — kindness and compassion, treating people as individuals, independence and dignity, workforce wellbeing
• Responsive — person-centred care, care provided equitably, listening to and acting on concerns, planning for the end of life
• Well-led — shared vision, capable leadership, culture, governance and management of risk, learning and improvement, partnership working

The evidence CQC looks for

A statement is assessed using several evidence categories, not a single document. Policies alone will not carry a statement; you need the lived experience and the outcome as well.

• What people using the service and their relatives say
• What staff and leaders say about how the service actually runs
• Feedback from commissioners, health partners and professionals
• Direct observation of care and the environment
• Processes: audits, records, training, monitoring and policy
• Outcomes: what measurably changed for the people you support

Turning statements into a working evidence map

The practical task is to attach real, dated evidence to every statement and to know which ones are weak before an assessor does. Most services find the gaps sit in feedback and outcomes rather than in policy.

• List each statement and name the evidence that proves it today
• Date every item so you can see what has gone stale
• Flag statements with no feedback or no outcome evidence
• Raise an improvement action wherever evidence is missing
• Review the map monthly rather than before an assessment

How AJG Compliance handles this

Audits in AJG Compliance are mapped to the key questions and quality statements, so each completed audit files evidence against the statement it supports and any gap becomes a tracked action with an owner and a due date. Your governance report then shows the evidence position statement by statement.

Official source

The wording, number and grouping of quality statements are set and updated by CQC. Check cqc.org.uk for the current published set before rewriting internal documents or staff training.