Our assessments of local authorities: developing our rating characteristics
Our proposed strategic framework for re-assessing local authorities focuses on people’s outcomes and experiences of care and support, including unpaid carers. It will support delivery of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s priorities for local authorities and make best use of data and insights to understand quality and help local authorities and the wider care sector to improve.
When assessing how well local authorities are delivering their regulated care functions under Part 1 of The Care Act (2014) we will review evidence across a range of categories for each quality statement in our assessment framework. We will then apply a quality statement score in line with our scoring framework to support decisions:
1 = Evidence shows significant shortfalls
2 = Evidence shows some shortfalls
3 = Evidence shows a good standard
4 = Evidence shows an exceptional standard
Each quality statement will be supported by rating characteristics to provide additional clarity about our expectations. Rating characteristics suggest what care and support, as well as governance and leadership might look like for each quality statement across each judgement level in the assessment framework.
They are a guide rather than an exhaustive description or checklist for each quality statement, and ultimately a local authority’s rating. While some fundamental characteristics will be common across all local authorities, how these characteristics become real and meaningful for a local population will be different in each local area.
The rating characteristics describe some of the key features we might expect at each judgement level. They are not intended to be used as criteria to determine the score of each quality statement within the assessment framework.
The rating characteristics will support the professional judgement of assessment teams to determine the scores and ultimately a local authority’s rating. They are an indication and not a checklist.
They are considered alongside external best practice standards and guidance, and the Secretary of State’s priorities for the assessment of local authorities and supported by processes to ensure judgements about ratings are consistent, proportionate and in line with the assessment framework.
Tell us what you think
If you would like to share any further feedback or comments on the second version of our draft rating characteristics, email systemsengagement@cqc.org.uk before Sunday 22 March 2026.
We will consider further feedback and finalise the rating characteristics. We plan to publish final rating characteristics that will support the re-assessment approach for local authorities in Spring 2026.
If you would prefer to read the draft rating characteristics as a PDF, please see below attachment.