CQC Care Home Inspections in 2026: Assessment Priorities and Preparation

Reviewed and updated: 28 September 2026. This guide covers care homes in England. It corrects the earlier inspection forecasts and distinguishes CQC's assessment programme from changes being piloted.

CQC has increased assessment activity, but a national total cannot tell you when your care home will be visited. Keep evidence of the care you provide and the improvements you make up to date, and use CQC's current guidance when preparing for an assessment.

What the 9,000 assessment target covered

CQC's published improvement plan set a target of at least 9,000 assessments across all providers between April 2025 and September 2026. It was not a target for 9,000 care-home inspections or 1,500 adult social care inspections each month.

That target has already been exceeded: in its 27 August 2026 bulletin for adult social care providers, CQC reported more than 9,800 assessments completed. This is a dated programme update, not a count of care homes visited or a prediction for an individual service.

How CQC decides what to assess

CQC's assessment-frequency guidance says the timing depends on information received and evidence collected. Assessments can be planned or responsive to concerns, and the order of planned activity is informed by risk. A gap of 18 months or two years alone does not establish a high probability of a visit by a particular date.

Its 26 May 2026 priorities update identified adult social care services with urgent or emerging risks, unassessed services identified as very high risk, and services registered for more than a year that had not yet been assessed. Providers should respond to the actual risks in their service rather than work backwards from an invented inspection timetable.

12 June was a consultation deadline, not a new framework start date

CQC closed consultation on four draft sector-specific assessment frameworks on 12 June 2026. That did not mean every assessment after that date would use finalised new criteria.

The published pilot plan described testing from June to October 2026, with final evaluation in November, alongside existing inspections. Pilot judgements would not change a provider's regulatory status or rating. The August bulletin still described draft frameworks being tested and refined. Continue to check CQC's published assessment guidance and any instructions specific to your service; do not treat a consultation closing date as an implementation deadline.

A practical review of your service's evidence

CQC's evidence guidance describes both on-site and off-site assessment, including unannounced on-site activity. It does not establish a universal 24–48 hour notice rule. CQC asks for information providers already hold rather than special documents created for inspection.

Use the fundamental standards to review everyday care and oversight. The following are practical prompts, not an exhaustive CQC checklist or a guarantee of a rating:

• Care and safety: check that care plans reflect people's needs and preferences, that risks are assessed, and that identified safety concerns have actions and owners.
• Staffing: review whether staff numbers, skills, training and supervision meet the needs of people using the service.
• Recruitment: check role-appropriate recruitment evidence, including relevant criminal-record and employment-history checks.
• Complaints and feedback: show how complaints are investigated, how people are involved and what changed when problems were found.
• Governance: review previous findings, audits and incidents, then check whether actions actually improved care and reduced risks.

Do not label every older DBS certificate as expired. DBS employer guidance says criminal-record certificates have no official expiry date; they reflect information available when issued. Decide whether further checks are needed using the role, circumstances and applicable sector guidance, rather than a blanket expiry assumption.

Correction to the employment-law claim

The previous article confused redundancy consultation with compensation. For dismissals from 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award for failing to meet collective consultation obligations increased from 90 to 180 days' pay per affected employee. It did not create a 180-day consultation period.

Under GOV.UK's consultation guidance, collective rules apply to 20 or more proposed redundancies within 90 days at one establishment. Consultation must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal for 20–99 proposed redundancies, or 45 days for 100 or more. These employment rules are separate from CQC's inspection programme.

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The dashboard helps organise regulatory information; it does not certify CQC compliance, predict inspections or guarantee a rating. Follow the official sources above when deciding what your service needs to do.