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ARC UK Impact Report 2025-26

ARC UK (the Association for Real Change) is a charity working to make things better for people with a learning disability, autism or other support needs, and their families, across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This Easy Read impact report sets out how the organisation made real change happen in 2025-26 across its five areas of work: research, networking, advocacy, policy and training.

Report snapshot
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About

The Association for Real Change (ARC) is a UK charity that brings people together to improve the lives of people with a learning disability, autism and other support needs. Working across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, it delivers research, networking, advocacy, policy and training so that communities include everyone and celebrate difference.

Key Metrics

People trained 2,743 people were trained through 128 training courses in 2025-26.
Meetings held 603 meetings were held for staff and professionals, supported people, and parents and carers.
Easy Reads produced 58 Easy Reads and 6 films were made by TILII, an advocacy group of people with a learning disability supported by ARC NI.
Police checks supported 5,232 police checks were helped through for people who want to work in social care.
Voices in policy More than 120 people with a learning disability took part in Northern Ireland government consultations, and 23 people with lived experience advised the Scottish Government on a new law.

Key Outcomes

  • Almost everyone trained said what they learned helped them understand more and feel more confident doing their jobs, and most said they would work differently because of the training.
  • Everyone asked said they had a good experience with ARC, felt listened to and respected, and almost everyone said ARC helped them make services better.

Geography

UK-Wide

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
Total income £18,180,000 and total expenditure £18,560,000 (year ended 31 December 2024, charity no. 1084958 England/Wales and SC039654 Scotland); in 2024 spent £3.8m on...
Key Metric 2
700+ members supported through in-person visits and support calls in 2025; 697 support grants allocated in 2025 for essential items including specialist clothing, cooling...
Key Metric 3
Largest global investment in EB research to date: multi-million-pound drug repurposing trial provisionally agreed with LifeArc partner at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation...
£34,000 raised in 2025 winter appeal supporting families like Darcie's with specialist items, emotional support and research; 697 support grants delivered in 2025; first Members Connect event in Northern Ireland; EB Priorities Setting Partnership study completed providing global research roadmap
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
22,507 households helped through RBL casework and specialist support services across 66 countries
Key Metric 2
22,600 grants given to those in need, totalling £11.8 million
Key Metric 3
733 beneficiaries represented at tribunals, resulting in £24.5 million in War Pensions awards
1,548 new families living with dementia supported by RBL Admiral Nurses service
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
3,600 blind veterans received support across the UK; 447 new blind veterans started receiving support in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
1,598 referrals to rehabilitation services completed; 313 veterans received assistive technology training
Key Metric 3
997 volunteers donated 26,824 hours of support; befriending service awarded Quality in Befriending Excellence — one of only 11 organisations in the UK to...
1,831 National Creative Wellbeing Project packs issued to help veterans reconnect with creativity and independence
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
349,000+ people completed the Know Your Risk tool to assess their risk of type 2 diabetes in 2024
Key Metric 2
£4 million invested in 17 new research projects; total active grants portfolio worth over £45 million
Key Metric 3
32% of people completing NHS England's Path to Remission programme — which Diabetes UK campaigned for — put their type 2 diabetes into remission
Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge invested over £23 million in 19 projects across 161 experts from 47 institutions in 8 countries since 2022