"Who benefits from adult learning?" was the question explored at a joint WEA/NIACE conference in Coventry last autumn. The last decade has seen significant increases in the resources allocated to further education in the UK. Latest figures show 1.4 million public funded places on adult education classes have been lost in the last two years. For those still wanting to learn as adults there tends to be less choice, with employers increasingly in the driving seat, and public funding focused on "economically valuable skills" and qualifications. For many adult learners the motivation to learn stems from a desire to help their families, get involved in cultural activities, improve confidence, develop broad-based employability skills, or help out in their communities. What the WEA/NIACE conference sought to do was to bring to life debates about public value in adult learning through a focus on practical examples of public value in action. The 12 case studies featured at the conference were all chosen because they illustrated not only the impact of learning on individuals but also the wider social benefits that learning can have. This article presents a small selection of the case studies profiled at the conference.