Women and Girls with Autism: Mental Health Support

Alison Bennett Excerpts

Tuesday 15th July 2025 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale) for securing this debate and raising this extremely important topic. We know that, sadly, autistic people are at the wrong end of statistics on a range of mental health conditions: 70% to 80% of autistic people will experience mental health problems during their lives, and tragically many are more likely to die by suicide.

We have heard the devastating impact that can have on individuals and families. I pass my heartfelt condolences to my hon. Friend’s constituent, Ms Bridges, on the loss of her daughter. My hon. Friend spoke of the campaign for Lolly’s law, and I commend her for her tireless work to ensure that autistic people get the mental health support and treatment they deserve. As my hon. Friend said, that is exhausting, and too many parents are forced into campaigning roles. As she rightly said, Lauren should still be here.

It is clear that the number of autistic people and those with a learning disability who are in mental health hospitals is unacceptable. There are still too many people being detained who could be supported to live well in their communities. We want to ensure that people get the support they need in the community, improving care and keeping people out of hospital. The Mental Health Bill, currently before Parliament, would limit the scope to detain autistic people and those with a learning disability, so that they can be detained under part 2 section 3 only if they have a co-occurring mental disorder that requires hospital treatment.

The Bill would also introduce a package of measures to improve community support for autistic people and those with a learning disability. It is also critical, however, that when autistic people do need to be admitted to mental health in-patient settings, due to a co-occurring mental health condition, they receive the right care and support.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

My constituent, Annabel, who is a teenager, has parallel experiences to Lolly, as set out by the hon. Member for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale). She also had a terrible experience being detained in a secure unit, which her parents did not think was safe. Does the Minister agree that when teenagers—children—are detained in secure units, more needs to be done to ensure that they are safe and fit for purpose to protect those children’s welfare?

[Karin Smyth]

The hon. Lady raises another terrible case concerning a teenager on behalf of her constituent. We must of course be mindful of that provision for children and young people. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West spoke of her constituent’s campaign to retrain mental health staff, to improve understanding and acceptance of autistic women and girls. As we have heard, we know there can be differences in how autism presents in males and females, which can make autism harder to identify in girls.