Care Matters is a hub for evidence, ideas and action on how good social care enables adults to live fulfilling lives with the right support.

It has been founded by a group of specialist social care providers to celebrate the ambitions and achievements of people who draw on support, recognise the skill and commitment of the people who work with them, and encourage a more hopeful and human conversation about social care.

Care Matters brings together research, new ideas and personal experience. By exploring what works, what good support makes possible and where things need to change, the hub aims to contribute to a better understanding of social care and shape a brighter future for people who draw on support.

Why Care Matters

Four people gather around a round table, baking cupcakes with colorful silicone wrappers. One woman is mixing, another woman and a man are decorating cupcakes, and a young girl is holding a cupcake.

About specialist social care

Specialist social care supports adults with significant, long-term support needs to live fulfilling lives, make choices and do the things that matter to them. It supports people with a wide range of needs, including people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health conditions, brain injuries, addiction, or complex physical and sensory disabilities.

Most people who draw on specialist social care are of working age, although support is shaped by a person’s needs rather than how old they are. People are supported in a range of settings, with many living in their own homes through supported living or in small-scale residential services.

Key facts about the sector:

  • The UK spent around £21 billion on social care for working-age adults in 2024/25, supporting 320,000 adults to receive specialist support

  • Support relating to learning disabilities and autism dominates expenditure, at £12 billion per year

  • Funding is overwhelmingly public: 79% from local authorities, 11% from the NHS, and only 4% from private payers. The independent sector provides 94% of provision

  • Operating margins in the sector have fallen from 27% pre-austerity to 15% in 2024

  • Demand for services is growing. 8% more working-age disabled people will need support in 2033 than 2023

Sources: LaingBuisson 2026, LaingBuisson 2025, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, 2026

Our Founders

Choice Care, ivolve Care & Support and Voyage Care together support nearly 6,000 people and employ over 17,000 colleagues. They specialise in supporting adults of working age – including people with learning disabilities, autism, brain injuries and other complex needs – to live the lives they choose in homes and communities across the UK.

Their care is provided in homes and flats up and down the country. The people they support have the right to pop to the shop, jump on the bus or go to college, like any other neighbour. Colleagues bring a deep understanding of the people they support and the ability to knit together the input of GPs, healthcare professionals, social workers and education and employment services around them.

Our Research Partner

‍Public First is the research partner to Care Matters and has produced our initial reports. It is a policy, research and strategy consultancy that works with governments, businesses and institutions to understand public opinion and address major economic and public policy challenges. Its work combines economic modelling, data analysis and opinion research to bring the voices of the public into decision-making. It is a member of the British Polling Council and a company partner of the Market Research Society.

Illustration of diverse people walking in a line, some with children, strollers, or using walkers.
  • Group of five young adults taking a selfie together indoors, smiling and making peace signs.

  • Two women baking cupcakes in a kitchen. One woman with dark skin and short hair, wearing a pink sweater, is observing. The other woman with light skin and long hair, wearing a dark sweater, is placing colorful cupcake liners in a baking tray. There are various baking ingredients and supplies on the counter.

  • Two men sitting on a couch playing video games together, with one man laughing and the other focused, in a living room with a vase of flowers in the background.

  • Four young people, two men and two women, are taking a selfie outdoors in a town square with historic buildings and red telephone booths in the background. They are smiling and casually dressed.