The 5 CQC Key Questions and How to Evidence Each One

When the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assesses a care service, it asks five key questions. Every standard, every piece of evidence, and every judgement maps back to one of them. If you understand these five questions and know how to evidence each, an inspection becomes far less daunting, because you can see exactly what the inspector is looking for.

This guide explains each key question and the evidence that answers it.

The five key questions

The CQC asks whether your service is:

1. Safe
2. Effective
3. Caring
4. Responsive
5. Well led

Let us take each in turn.

1. Is your service safe?

Safe means people are protected from avoidable harm. This is where staffing, safeguarding, and medication sit.

Evidence that answers it:

• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and safe recruitment records for every carer.
• Training that is current and tracked.
• Digital medication records showing safe administration.
• Risk assessments matched to each person's needs.
• Incident reports showing you spot and act on problems.

2. Is your service effective?

Effective means care achieves good outcomes and is based on good practice. It is about whether the support actually helps the person.

Evidence that answers it:

• Person centred care plans that are reviewed and up to date.
• Evidence of staff competence and ongoing training.
• Records showing you work with other professionals, such as GPs.
• Outcomes tracked over time, for example nutrition or skin integrity.

3. Is your service caring?

Caring means staff treat people with compassion, dignity, and respect. This is the most human question, and it is evidenced through how care is recorded as much as how it is delivered.

Evidence that answers it:

• Visit notes that show personal, respectful care.
• Care plans that reflect the individual's own wishes and preferences.
• Evidence that people and their families are involved in decisions.

4. Is your service responsive?

Responsive means care is organised around people's needs and adapts when those needs change.

Evidence that answers it:

• Care plans updated promptly when something changes.
• A record of how you respond to concerns and complaints.
• Flexibility in how you schedule and deliver visits.

5. Is your service well led?

Well led is about leadership, governance, and a culture of improvement. It is often the hardest to evidence, because it is the least tangible.

Evidence that answers it:

• Audits and quality checks carried out regularly.
• Clear policies that are actually followed.
• Reports that show you monitor quality and act on what you find.
• A record of learning from incidents and feedback.

Tie it together

Notice how the same records answer several questions at once. A good care plan supports effective, caring, and responsive. Solid medication records support safe and well led. This is why keeping connected records matters: one piece of evidence often does several jobs.

For a practical pre inspection run through, see our CQC inspection checklist, and for how software supports all five, see our CQC compliance feature.

The five key questions are not a mystery once you map your evidence to them. Know what each one asks, keep the matching records current, and you can walk into an inspection knowing you have the answers. For the wider context, read our complete guide to care agency management software.