Buyer
Consulting
Consulting
Policy and Partnership Development
ARC England: building the evidence for change in learning disability and autism social care
Since 2019, Victoria has helped strengthen ARC England’s research, policy and influencing capability, building the evidence and partnerships needed to expose pressures and support change in social care.
IMPACT
8 years
of fee-rate evidence
94%
of local authorities
2022
Research Unit established
80%+
of ICBs
2024/25
Our Social Lives
2023
CEO Confidence Index
THE PROJECT
The challenge
THE CONTEXT
Learning disability and autism providers operate in a complex commissioning environment where funding pressures, geographical variation and gaps in national intelligence can make it difficult to demonstrate the true pressures facing services and the people they support.
ARC England wanted to strengthen its evidence base and influencing capability so that provider experience could be translated into credible intelligence for commissioners, policymakers and the wider social care sector.
BUYER CONSULTING'S ROLE
Turning sector frustration into collective action
Since 2019, Victoria has played a central role in strengthening ARC England’s research, policy and influencing capability.
Her contribution has combined research development, evidence strategy, policy engagement, partnership building, digital innovation and organisational continuity.
A defining part of the work was her leadership in developing and establishing the ARC England Learning Disability Research Unit in 2022, creating the infrastructure needed to build a stronger evidence base around learning disability and autism social care.
HOW WE WORKED
From strategy to action
01
Work undertaken
Victoria helped develop ARC England’s annual Fee Rate Maps into a longitudinal evidence programme covering eight years of local authority fee rates for learning disability and autism services.
Drawing on freedom of information data, the programme exposes geographical and service-level variation in funding while giving providers stronger evidence for discussions with commissioners.
She also supported development of the 2023 CEO Confidence Index, established the ARC England Digital Network and supported Our Social Lives, a major co-produced peer research programme with Learning Disability England and Paradigm.
In 2025, Victoria extended the fee-rate programme into health commissioning data, identifying a significant national intelligence gap around Integrated Care Board expenditure on adult social care.
02
Collaboration
The work has involved ARC England’s leadership, membership and provider network alongside national organisations and partners including DHSC, CQC and Skills for Care.
Victoria also supported collaboration with Learning Disability England and Paradigm through the Our Social Lives programme, placing the experiences and voices of people with learning disabilities at the centre of research.
Alongside the programme work, she provided strategic continuity through two Director transitions, helping maintain organisational momentum and relationships with ARC England’s membership.
Evidence and influence in action
From national policy engagement to sector collaboration, this work brings evidence, providers and decision-makers together around the challenges facing learning disability and autism social care.
Project resources
Reports, research and supporting material
Explore reports, research and other resources connected with this work.
WHAT CHANGED
Outcome and impact
OUTCOME
What changed
Victoria’s contribution has helped strengthen ARC England’s position as an evidence-led and influential sector voice.
The work has transformed provider experience into credible longitudinal intelligence capable of exposing funding inequalities, challenging assumptions and supporting stronger commissioning, provider and policy decisions across learning disability and autism social care.
The programme has also expanded ARC England’s capacity to connect evidence, lived experience, technology and national policy influence.
WIDER IMPACT
Why it mattered
ARC England’s evidence programme has developed from individual research activity into a sustained body of intelligence covering local authority fee rates, provider confidence, digital innovation and health commissioning.
The work has created stronger evidence for providers and policymakers while exposing significant gaps and inequalities within the funding and commissioning of learning disability and autism social care.
PEOPLE BEHIND THE WORK
Expertise behind the project
The people who brought the strategy, sector knowledge and relationships needed to move the work forward.
