CQC key lines of enquiry (KLOE): a plain-English guide for home care

If you've been in domiciliary care for more than a few years, you almost certainly know the term KLOE. KLOEs, or ‘Key lines of enquiry’, shaped how CQC inspections worked for nearly a decade. Then, in 2023, the CQC replaced them with the Single Assessment Framework. Now, in 2026, the key lines of enquiry are coming back - but in a new, sector-specific form.

‍

That's a lot to keep track of. If you're confused about where things stand, you're not alone. This guide explains what KLOEs are, how they were used, what changed with the Single Assessment Framework, and what the reintroduction of KLOEs means for your home care agency right now.

‍

What KLOEs are

‍

Key lines of enquiry are structured questions used by CQC inspectors to assess the quality of a care service. Each KLOE relates to one of CQC's five key questions - Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, Well-led - and set out what inspectors will look for, what evidence they will request, and how they will form a judgement.

‍

The value of KLOEs was their specificity. Rather than leaving inspectors to interpret the five key questions themselves, each KLOE gave them a concrete focus. For example, how does the service manage medicines safely? How does it respond to safeguarding concerns? How does it ensure staff have the right skills? For providers, KLOEs were also a practical preparation tool: if you could answer each KLOE question clearly and produce supporting evidence, you were inspection-ready.

‍

KLOEs were introduced as part of CQC's inspection methodology around 2015 and became the standard framework for adult social care assessment for several years. They were grouped under the five key questions and supported by prompts and evidence descriptors specific to each type of service.

‍

The transition to the single assessment framework

‍

In November 2023, CQC introduced the Single Assessment Framework (SAF). This replaced KLOEs across all health and social care sectors with a unified approach. Under the SAF, the evidence-gathering structure changed: instead of specific KLOE questions, CQC used "quality statements" - commitments framed as "We" statements (what the provider does) and "I" statements (what people experience).

‍

The intention was to create a consistent, continuous assessment model rather than relying on periodic inspections. In practice however, the SAF received significant criticism from providers and inspectors alike. The quality statements were seen as too broad, inconsistently interpreted, and not tailored enough to specific service types.

‍

In response CQC ran a public consultation, "Better regulation, better care", which closed in December 2025. Following that, in March 2026, CQC announced it would move away from the SAF and introduce separate, sector-specific assessment frameworks. For adult social care, the new framework reintroduces something similar to the key lines of enquiry, where structured questions replace the quality statements, while retaining the five key questions.

‍

A draft framework of 24 KLOEs for adult social care is currently in public consultation, with a pilot expected in summer 2026.

‍

What inspectors look for under each key question in home care

‍

Whether assessed under the SAF, the forthcoming sector-specific KLOEs, or any future framework, the good news is that the underlying five key questions remain the consistent lens through which CQC assesses home care services. Here's what inspectors focus on in a domiciliary context under each domain.

‍

Safe

Inspectors look at how the agency identifies and manages risk. This includes whether risk assessments are current and proportionate, whether medication is administered safely and recorded correctly, whether incidents and near-misses are documented and acted on, and whether staff know how to recognise abuse and raise a safeguarding concern. In home care, Safe evidence is heavily documentation-dependent: the carer is alone in someone's home, and the record they leave is often the only account of what happened.

‍

Effective

Inspectors assess whether care is achieving good outcomes for people. They look at the quality and currency of care plans, whether staff have the right training for the specific needs of their clients, and whether the agency works with GPs, district nurses and other professionals to support joined-up care. Evidence that someone's independence or wellbeing has been maintained or improved is particularly valued.

‍

Caring

This domain is assessed through multiple evidence sources - not just documentation. Inspectors will speak to clients and family members, review complaint and compliment data, and consider whether care workers treat people as individuals. Care plans that record personal preferences, routines and what matters to each person are strong evidence under this domain. Continuity of care workers also matters: if someone sees a different face at every visit, that affects the quality of the caring relationship.

‍

Responsive

Inspectors look at whether the service is organised around individual needs or operational convenience. They will scrutinise how quickly care plans are updated when someone's condition changes, how the agency handles late or missed visits, whether the complaints process is accessible and effective, and how well the service supports people at times of transition - hospital discharge, end of life, or a change in package. Punctuality and consistency of visits are measurable evidence under this domain.

‍

Well-led

Inspectors assess the registered manager's oversight of the whole service. Can the manager demonstrate a clear picture of quality and risk across the business? Is there evidence of regular audit activity? Are staff supported and well-managed? Is the agency open and honest when things go wrong? A strong Well-led assessment requires not just good governance processes on paper, but evidence that those processes are actually operating and producing learning.

‍

Evidence examples by domain

‍

Safe

Strong evidence under the Safe domain includes

• A complete and unbroken set of medication administration records, completed at the time of each visit.
• Current, signed risk assessments for every client, reviewed following any significant change in health or circumstances.
• An incident and near-miss log that records what happened, what action was taken, and what the service learned as a result.
• Safeguarding training records with completion dates for every member of staff.

‍

Effective

Strong evidence under the Effective domain includes

• Care plans with clearly stated outcomes - not just tasks - reviewed and updated when a person's needs change.
• A training matrix that shows, for each staff member, which tasks they are competent to carry out and when their training was last assessed.
• Records of multi-disciplinary working: correspondence with GPs, district nurses, social workers or other professionals involved in a client's care.
• Evidence that care plan reviews happen following hospital discharge or any significant health event.

‍

Caring

Strong evidence under the Caring domain includes

• Direct feedback from clients and family members: survey results, written compliments, thank-you notes, and records of what people have said about their experience.
• Care plans that record personal preferences, routines, and what matters most to each individual — not just clinical needs.
• Data on continuity of care workers, showing that people see familiar faces rather than a rotating series of strangers.
• Records of spot checks and quality visits with notes from the observer.

‍

Responsive

Strong evidence under the Responsive domain includes

• Rostering records that show punctuality and missed visit data, with documented follow-up when visits are late or missed.
• A complaint log with response times, investigation records, and outcomes communicated to the complainant - alongside evidence of any changes to practice that followed.
• Records showing that care plans are reviewed promptly when a person's condition or preferences change.
• Evidence of how the agency supports people during transitions: hospital discharge, a change in package, or end-of-life care.

‍

Well-led

Strong evidence under the Well-led domain includes

• Audit records — covering care planning, medication management, visit completion and staff compliance - with outcomes tracked and actions documented.
• Quality improvement plans with evidence that improvements have been made and their impact reviewed.
• Supervision and appraisal records showing that every member of staff receives regular one-to-one support.
• Staff survey results or feedback, including evidence that concerns raised by staff have been acknowledged and acted on.
• Incident and accident analysis showing themes over time and demonstrable learning at a service level.

‍

Common KLOE and domain failures in domiciliary care

‍

Safe failures in home care most commonly involve medication records. Carers completing MARs retrospectively, rather than at the time of the visit, is one of the most frequently cited issues. Risk assessments that have not been updated following a fall, a hospital admission or a change in condition are another.

‍

Well-led is where agencies with otherwise strong care delivery most often lose marks. The registered manager may know their service well but lack the systematic evidence to demonstrate that knowledge to an inspector. Without regular, documented audits and a clear quality monitoring process, inspectors cannot confirm that oversight is genuinely in place.

‍

Responsive failures often come down to complaint handling. Agencies that acknowledge complaints verbally but do not document the investigation, response or learning leave themselves exposed. A pattern of similar complaints without evidence of systemic change will score poorly under any version of this domain.

‍

For practical detail on how to build inspection-ready evidence for all five domains, see our guide to what digital evidence CQC expects. For the broader regulatory context, see our guides to the CQC fundamental standards and the CQC Single Assessment Framework.

‍

‍

Birdie surfaces evidence across all five domains automatically - so your service is inspection-ready every day, not just when the call comes. Real-time care notes, timestamped medication records, incident alerts and analytics that track quality trends across your whole operation all feed into a picture that holds up under scrutiny. See how Birdie supports inspection readiness.

‍