Digital systems & cyber security
Cyber security, the DSPT and digital records are named scope under Well-led KLOE 4 and Safe KLOE 5. Your DSPT submission is now inspection evidence.
From 34 Quality Statementsto 24 KLOEs.
A practical guide to the move from the CQC Single Assessment Framework to the 2026 Adult Social Care Assessment Framework — what stays the same, what changes, and what new evidence you will need.
Based on CQC's draft Adult Social Care Assessment Framework, version 9 — in consultation until 12 June 2026.
Where the transition stands today
The Single Assessment Framework and its 34 Quality Statements remain in force. CQC published the draft 2026 framework in March 2026; the consultation closes on 12 June 2026, with pilots over the summer and go-live expected late in the year. Most providers will have their first inspection under the new framework during 2027.
So 2026 is a transition year, not a cliff edge. Any inspection between now and go-live is still under the SAF — and FlexiEle maps your evidence to both frameworks while they overlap.
Mar 2026
Draft 2026 framework published
You are here
Consultation — closes 12 Jun
Summer 2026
Pilots run
Late 2026
New framework goes live
2027
Most first inspections under it
The shape of the change
What stays the same — and what changes.
What stays the same
- The five Key Questions — Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, Well-led.
- The four ratings — Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate.
- The Single Assessment Framework runs throughout the transition.
- Your current rating — it does not expire when the framework changes.
What changes
- The 34 Quality Statements become 24 Key Lines of Enquiry, written for adult social care.
- The numerical scoring model is removed.
- Inspectors weigh evidence against published rating characteristics instead.
- Adult social care gets its own sector-specific framework.
Re-mapping your evidence
Your evidence library doesn't all carry across.
The 24 KLOEs are not simply the 34 Quality Statements renumbered. Roughly 10 of the 24 KLOEs map closely to an existing Quality Statement; the other 14 are new or substantially reframed. Analysis: Log my Care
That means re-mapping the evidence you already hold against the right new KLOE — and identifying where the framework now asks for evidence you have never had to produce before. It is real work, and it is best done before an inspector does it for you.
FlexiEle files evidence against the 24 KLOEs as it is created — and still maps to the 34 Quality Statementsthrough the transition, so a SAF inspection and a 2026-framework inspection are both covered.
Newly explicit
The evidence the new framework makes explicit.
Antimicrobial stewardship & STOMP/STAMP
Safe KLOE 7 explicitly names antimicrobial stewardship and STOMP/STAMP — ground most medication records were never built to evidence.
Workforce equity & culture
Well-led KLOE 2 makes workforce equality, diversity, speaking up and staff wellbeing an explicit line of enquiry in their own right.
None of these are wholly new duties — but the 2026 framework names them as explicit scope, so they now need explicit evidence.
Get ready
Walk the transition on your own evidence.
Book a 20-minute demo and we'll show how FlexiEle maps your evidence to both the 34 Quality Statements and the 24 KLOEs — or read the full reference of all 24.