Analysis
Why ratings are given · reasons & themes
What CQC marks down most, the recurring themes behind poor ratings, and how quality splits by type and region.
Why ratings are given
The breakdown below shows how the five key questions drive overall ratings.
Among the 6799 locations rated Inadequate or Requires improvement, the domains most often failing are:
- Well-led97.2% (6606/6799)
- Safe92% (6256/6799)
- Effective61.7% (4196/6799)
- Responsive50.7% (3450/6799)
- Caring29.8% (2027/6799)
Safe
- Outstanding110
- Good25024
- Requires improvement5989
- Inadequate1435
- Unrated23671
- Inspected but not rated129
- No published rating8954
- Insufficient evidence to rate27
Effective
- Outstanding381
- Good27397
- Requires improvement4054
- Inadequate679
- Unrated23671
- Inspected but not rated87
- No published rating9041
- Insufficient evidence to rate29
Caring
- Outstanding1222
- Good29185
- Requires improvement1820
- Inadequate272
- Unrated23671
- Inspected but not rated86
- No published rating9058
- Insufficient evidence to rate25
Responsive
- Outstanding1428
- Good27234
- Requires improvement3363
- Inadequate475
- Unrated23671
- Inspected but not rated84
- No published rating9056
- Insufficient evidence to rate28
Well-led
- Outstanding1098
- Good22940
- Requires improvement6946
- Inadequate1567
- Unrated23671
- Inspected but not rated96
- No published rating8995
- Insufficient evidence to rate26
Recurring reasons (AI-extracted)
AI reasons extracted for 2829 of 32538 rated locations (poorly-rated prioritised).
Recurring themes
- leadership/governance2820
- safeguarding2689
- medication2577
- risk-management2340
- training2250
- care-planning2215
- staffing2039
- recruitment1917
- infection-control1199
- dignity/respect1131
- environment/premises1033
- nutrition624
Why good vs why poor
Comparing AI-read reports of 419 Good/Outstanding homes against 2410 Inadequate/Requires-improvement homes. Themes a report emphasises — concerns in poor homes, strengths in good ones.
- dignity/respectpoor32%good87%
- nutritionpoor18%good43%
- infection-controlpoor39%good63%
- recruitmentpoor65%good84%
- trainingpoor77%good95%
- care-planningpoor76%good94%
- staffingpoor70%good82%
- safeguardingpoor94%good100%
- medicationpoor90%good96%
- leadership/governancepoor100%good100%
- risk-managementpoor84%good75%
- environment/premisespoor38%good28%
Most-cited concerns (poor homes)
- risk1908
- medicines1736
- assessments1333
- records1308
- systems1175
- including1113
- plans1080
- quality1078
- safety1060
- identify959
- risks946
- management910
- failed847
- lacked838
Most-cited strengths (good homes)
- strong390
- systems302
- safeguarding285
- management278
- regular271
- including268
- effective240
- centred231
- safe231
- training223
- quality216
- risk184
- leadership175
- comprehensive174
Good-home sample is smaller (many recent reports don't yield extractable text); treat as directional. Themes reflect report emphasis, not a like-for-like failure count.
Inspections by type
Locations by type
Rating distribution
Ratings by type
By region
Locations by region
- South East18457
- London16922
- North West13402
- West Midlands11282
- East11161
- South West10708
- Yorkshire & Humberside9415
- East Midlands9092
- North East4499
- Unknown34
- Wales7
Top local authorities
Top 15 local authorities
- Kent3183
- Hampshire2741
- Essex2705
- Surrey2567
- Lancashire2340
- Birmingham2278
- Hertfordshire1967
- West Sussex1754
- Norfolk1640
- Staffordshire1544
- Devon1538
- Westminster1492
- Nottinghamshire1448
- Leeds1400
- East Sussex1307