Neurodiversity: Ministerial Role

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Westminster Hall

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the potential merits of appointing a Minister for Neurodiversity.

About 20% of the population are what we would call neurodivergent, yet there is no one person working across Government Departments to ensure that the needs of this 20% are considered. Neurodivergence is an umbrella term that describes people who think, learn, process, inform and interact with the world differently from the normal. It captures both medical and non-medical differences, including attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, autism, dyslexia and so many others. I myself am very neurospicy, as I call it. Although each of those traits and learning difficulties is unique, we use the term not only because there are overlapping traits but because people with ADHD and autism, for example, share a lot of challenges with their health, school and work.

For years, the main challenge when it comes to Government has been an unacceptable lack of understanding of neurodivergence. Policymakers just have not got it and have made life harder, not better, for that 20% of the population. In fact, that lack of understanding is why I got involved in politics in the first place, campaigning to stop the closure of the youth club that helped to save my life when I was struggling with severe dyslexia, ADHD and severe bullying. It just made no sense to me that the Government and the then Conservative-run Somerset county council could not understand the damage they were doing by cutting youth service funding by 100% in Somerset, particularly for neurodiverse people.

Even after we saved my youth club, the feeling that decision makers just do not understand has followed me through politics. It is what drove me to stand for election and to be in this place today. For far too long, it has felt like the world has been set up by someone else, and like neurodiverse people are an afterthought.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for all that he does and for how he has been able to overcome these difficulties. Many neurodivergent people report being misunderstood by those around them, leaving them feeling isolated and without adequate support. A dedicated Minister for neurodiversity could help drive a more targeted approach. Does he agree that appointing a dedicated Minister would help to prevent neurodivergent people from falling through the cracks and would ensure that they receive the understanding that they very much deserve, which would help them in their lives?

[Adam Dance]

I completely agree, and I thank the hon. Member for bringing that up. I will come to lots of those points later.

Coming into this Parliament with a new group of MPs and a new Government, I was really hopeful. I thought we would get things done across the parties. There are some fantastic MPs and Ministers who really do get it, but there are still far too many in power who are just as clueless as the Tories were when they tried to shut my youth club. I have been in meetings where Ministers have suggested that ADHD is just a mental health illness, which is not the case, and in meetings and debates where MPs and others have leaned into toxic narratives about ADHD or autism being a myth. While these seem like lots of insignificant things, when they are put together, we get a culture that leads to policy that is not just bad but damaging for neurodiverse people.

In fact, in many ways I think we have gone backwards from when my generation was at school. Under-investment in diagnosis and support pathways in the NHS means that people face a two-year minimum wait for ADHD and autism assessments if they are lucky, and way too many miss out on support and treatment.

A whole generation have gone without any identification or support at all. Research by the charity The Hidden suggests that between 250,000 and 600,000 autistic adults over the age of 50 in England have never been diagnosed. The education system is not set up to support neurodiverse people. Years of under-investment in local councils, which are for some reason responsible for special educational needs and disabilities support, has led to a crisis in Somerset, where more than 85% of children wait 20 to 52 weeks to get their education, health and care plan implemented, if they are lucky, and so many others are going without support at all.

Meanwhile, vocational, technical and creative pathways are being shut down, and there is too much focus on exams. Spelling, punctuation and grammar marks in non-English exams just punish you for having a learning disability. A lack of investment in training and support for teachers has seen them struggling to support pupils or just not understanding them altogether.

Arm’s length bodies are just as bad. Recently removed training material from Ofsted on Prevent suggested that a person with autism is more likely to be a dangerous extremist because they may develop special interests, which is insane. My assistant’s younger sister is autistic; her special interest is frogs. How does that make her more likely to be a terrorist? Guidance like that means that people with autism are more likely to get those types of referral; it does not address the factors that actually lead to radicalisation.

It is not just about healthcare or schools. The failures spread to the workplace. You are 80% more likely not to be in education, employment or training if you have SEND. There is still too little understanding of how to adjust and make the most of neurodiverse people’s skills. Sadly, what all this means is that you are far more likely to end up in prison or taking your own life if you are neurodivergent. Without the support I had, that would have been me.

What is most frustrating of all is that none of the work across Government to solve this is joined up well enough. You do not stop struggling with dyslexia, ADHD, autism or any other neurotype difference when you leave school, believe me. Being neurodivergent means that you will experience our education, health, justice, work and pension and Government systems differently for your whole life. That is why we have so many campaigners out there fighting for support for neurodivergent people: because after years of terrible policy, too many people feel like I did as a young person, which is that decision makers just do not get it and cannot be trusted.

A Government are supposed to serve all their people, and yet we are failing to provide representation for 20% of the population. Think about it like this, Mr Stuart: if I owned a landscaping company and ignored the needs of 20% of my customers by using plants that they were allergic to and making it impossible for them to get around their gardens, I would rightly be out of business. The Government will probably not go out of business—well, I hope not, at least as long as Liz Truss is not allowed anywhere near the Government again—but their failure to properly represent the needs of 20% of the people they were elected to represent is more than just a policy failure. It is damaging our democracy.

What we need in Government is someone whose job it is to listen, to understand and to represent the needs of neurodiverse people. It is not about special treatment, but about making sure that politics—big and small, national and local—do not unfairly impact neurodivergent lives, as they so often do. Given all the big challenges in Government, considering the appointment of a neurodiversity Minister could not come at a better time. Our health service is being restructured, our local integrated care boards are being merged, while their budgets are being cut, and our SEND system is undergoing generational change. The Milburn and Timms reviews will see an overhaul of work and benefits support, local government is being totally restructured, and our justice and prison system is undergoing a serious overhaul as it faces collapse.

Despite the fact that these are the systems that educate, diagnose, support and rehabilitate neurodivergent people, no one in Government is currently responsible for neurodivergent people through this transition. We all know what institutions, politics and Government are like: without someone with authority in the room making the case for neurodivergent people’s needs, they will be drowned out and forgotten. That cannot be allowed to happen any more. Ultimately, that is why we need a Minister in the Cabinet Office for neurodiversity.

A Minister for neurodiversity is obviously no silver bullet. No one policy solution will fix this, but what we need is one officer holding responsibility for making sure we join up all the different solutions: someone who is working across Government and is able to hold Government Departments, bodies and local authorities to account, but also someone who can co-ordinate and help Government bodies to get it right. It is not that there is some evil group of neurodivergent-hating elite we need to get rid of. Well, I hope not; that would be way too easy. There are so many fantastic people across Government, at all levels, who want to do right by neurodivergent people, but right now our institutional culture across Government just does not give policymakers the space or the tools to consider neurodivergent people properly.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Sally Jameson)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) for securing this important debate, and to other Members for their contributions.

I know that the hon. Member speaks truly from his own heart and his own experience about these issues. I assure him that I take his contribution very seriously, and I will make sure that the points he has raised are heard across Government, particularly in the Departments for Education, Health and Social Care, and Work and Pensions. It is so important that we have people like him in this Parliament, making sure that voices and experiences like his are heard not just here but across the country. I thank him for that.

[Jim Shannon]

One of the good things about the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) introducing the debate is that, by showing others out there with disabilities how they can progress in life and what they can achieve, he will now become, perhaps unknowingly, an inspiration to them.

[Sally Jameson]

I agree. The hon. Member for Yeovil is a role model for many thousands, possibly millions, of people out there who might think that their neurodiversity could hold them back from office: he is showing that that is absolutely not the case. He is using his role in Parliament to make sure that these issues are brought to the forefront of Government, the media and so on. I congratulate him on doing that, both today and more widely in this place.

Supporting people who are neurodiverse is of critical importance to the Government. The hon. Member is right to say that we do not have a Minister solely responsible for neurodiversity. He will know that ministerial portfolios and the machinery of government more generally are matters exclusively for the Prime Minister himself, but I want to assure him that this is a core focus of Government policy across Departments. I would actually expect—as I am sure Ministers and people more widely would as well—that neurodiversity and the issues that affect neurodiverse people need to be woven into all Government policy across all Departments, regardless of whether there is a Minister. We should expect that and hold the Government and ourselves accountable to ensure that that is happening.

The particular issues raised today are overseen by the Secretaries of State for Health and Social Care, for Education, and for Work and Pensions. Those Secretaries of State and their Departments work closely together, and the Government continue to work on the needs of people who are neurodiverse.

The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism found that ADHD and autism referrals and waiting lists for diagnosis have “risen dramatically”. We want to ensure that people of all ages get the right support and, crucially, get it at the right time, without having to wait for a diagnosis before they can get access to help.

The Government recognise that waits for ADHD and autism assessment remain too long and have a huge impact on individuals and their families. We all know that from our constituency inboxes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Satvir Kaur]

If this week has shown us anything, it is that no one is above the law. We have heard a lot about rich, powerful men using their positions to use and hurt women and girls, but these are also stories of strong women, both the victims and those in the media who expose perpetrators in positions of power. I pay tribute to their bravery and courage in coming forward to speak about deeply personal experiences so that justice can be served. We all have a responsibility to root out abuse wherever it is found. The Government are working tirelessly to ensure that offenders are held to account and victims are supported. I will, of course, be happy to meet and to work cross-party.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

7. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that disabled people receive appropriate reasonable adjustments to allow them to access public services.

[The Minister for Equalities (Sir Stephen Timms)]

The Equality Act 2010 places an anticipatory duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the Minister very much for that answer, but he will know that in Northern Ireland the disability employment gap remains, at 40.3%, the largest in the whole of the United Kingdom. Persistently low employment rates are particularly concerning following the loss of the European social fund financial support, which previously aided many employment services and disabled people in Northern Ireland. What discussions will the Minister have with the relevant Minister back home in Northern Ireland to secure sustainable replacement funding for those services, and to ensure that disabled people have the support and opportunities they need to access public services in the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland?

[Sir Stephen Timms]

The hon. Gentleman raises an extremely important point. The disability employment gap has been stuck at the same level across the UK pretty much since 2010. We have committed an extra £3.5 billion over this Parliament to improve employment support for disabled people and others out of work who have complex barriers. We are rolling out Connect to Work across England and Wales. I very much hope that that funding and the Barnett consequentials will enable similar improvements in Northern Ireland.

China: Breach of UK Parliamentarians’ Data

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

I accept the important point about the nature of the threat that we face internationally, and specifically from China; I have just referenced that. FIRS is an important operational tool. As I said to the shadow Minister, we will publish the annual report as soon as we are able to. The hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) will understand that it would not be appropriate for me to speculate about future registrations made using that operational tool. That is not how this has worked previously, and it is not how it will work today.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The targeted harvesting of phone and financial records appears to be part of a co-ordinated campaign of transnational repression against critics of Beijing. Given this escalatory behaviour, will the Minister review the powers available to our intelligence services to disrupt the commercial proxies, and state plainly what consequences the People’s Republic of China will face for executing operations against sitting British parliamentarians, bearing in mind that the website of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, which I chair, was hacked, and articles were replaced with pro-China propaganda? Quite clearly, that is something that we would never have agreed to.

National Scheme of Delegation of Planning Functions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 28th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the National Scheme of Delegation of Planning Functions.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. From Saturday, councillors across England will lose powers—powers to bring planning applications before elected committees. For communities like mine in Aldridge-Brownhills, which are already facing huge speculative development, this is a serious loss of accountability. My residents have faced an onslaught of applications in relation to green-belt sites, including York’s Bridge for 330 houses, Queslett Road East for 850, Barns Lane for 77, Longwood Lane for 78 and Bosty Lane for 550. Those are just some of them. These applications have brought the debate about the future of our countryside very close to people’s doors. These green spaces help to give our communities their identity. Residents want to know what development will mean for their already busy roads, school places and GP access. They are right to expect those questions to be properly considered before Ministers introduce sweeping changes, yet here we are, just days before the new rules take effect, still looking for answers.

It seems that of the outstanding applications for 2,350 homes across my constituency, 80% will be determined under the new rules and behind closed doors. Residents and councillors will not easily be able to ask questions of the developers or raise issues in open committee. Of course, we agree on the need for homes that local people can afford. I want brownfield sites brought back into use, with supporting infrastructure. As I have said time and again in this place and will probably keep saying, once agricultural land is built on, it is gone, and it is gone forever. I want to see planning consents built, not banked. That brings me to the current consultation on Walsall borough’s local plan.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the right hon. Lady. I spoke to her beforehand, and I always look to be helpful by talking about what we do back home. In Northern Ireland, under section 31 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, each of our 11 district councils is legally mandated to operate its own bespoke scheme of delegation. Although that gives local authorities excellent democratic autonomy over local developments, it has at times led to the exact regional inconsistencies in application processing times that the new English model explicitly seeks to correct. Does the right hon. Lady agree that the learnings from Northern Ireland’s process should be shared to achieve best practice in planning and hopefully address some of the very issues that she is highlighting?

[Wendy Morton]

I am always grateful to the hon. Gentleman, because he always makes useful contributions in Westminster Hall that allow us to reflect on and share our different experiences. To me, the fundamental thing is making sure that our communities feel that their councillors have a voice, rather than the democratic deficit that we are faced with. I thank him for his intervention.

Our local plan consultation closes on Monday, and over the last six weeks I have been encouraging residents to respond. I have been holding public meetings, helping with objections and making it clear to them that their views, whatever they are, matter, including when the plan goes before an independent inspector. But what message are the new regulations sending? Residents take the time to go through the documents, attend the meetings and help shape their area’s future, while the Government restrict their councillors’ ability to secure full and public scrutiny when an application arrives. That is not democracy in action—it is neither scrutiny nor accountability—so what is the point of asking communities to invest their time in a local plan if contentious decisions about its application are then to be taken behind closed doors?

Civil Service Pensions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sally Jameson]

If my hon. Friend writes to me with the detail of those two cases, I will, of course, be happy to look at them. What he raises is just another example of the poor service that Capita has provided—an indictment of its incompetence.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister very much for her understanding of these issues and her perseverance in trying to deliver results. Everyone in the House can understand her annoyance. The facts are deeply concerning. While the Government and Capita point to putting in place specific milestones for what they count as “workable stock”, the hard data shows that hundreds of priority bereavement and death-in-service cases remain completely trapped, some over 100 days old. Given that the independent remedial adviser and technical audit reports are due this month, will the Minister outline exactly what robust commercial penalties or legal enforcement measures are being prepared against Capita if it fails to restore full contractual service levels immediately?

[Sally Jameson]

Some of Capita’s classifications for cases—“workable cases” and that sort of carry-on—are not something that the Government ever recognised; that classification was not in the contract, and it is something that Capita has made up. I was very clear when I first met the CEO of Capita that I do not recognise that. Capita said that those bereavement cases would be resolved by 1 September. If any of those have not been resolved, then frankly that is a missed deadline.

In relation to what further action we could take, as I have said, my predecessor already withheld £10 million in contractual payments. Capita is receiving 10% less each month on a voluntary basis while the service remains as poor as it is. The Government now have at our disposal the Procurement Act 2023, which allows us to take into account poor performance when regarding other contracts.

Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill

Jim Shannon Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 21st October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Edward Leigh]

My wife is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church. [Laughter.]

The Oxford movement of the 1830s was established precisely because faithful Anglicans grew disturbed that a secularised, reformed Parliament that included non-Anglicans held absolute power over the doctrine and leadership of the Church of England. Indeed, the House of Commons historically had an enormous interest in the matter—there were huge debates in the 1920s over the nature of the prayer book, and these Benches were packed with people who were interested. What a pity that these wonderful debates do not attract similar attention. In his many reflections on the relationship between Church and state, Cardinal Newman, who was central to the Oxford movement during his time as an Anglican earlier in life, feared that the state would reduce the Church to nothing more than a Department of Government.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

We are now 200 years on from that time, and legislation is coming forward for Church appointments. Given what the House is trying to achieve through this Bill, we must reflect the changes in today’s society and its cultural and religious make-up. The fact is that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has changed greatly. That being the case, what the House is trying to achieve today is to be welcomed.

[Sir Edward Leigh]

We of course have to reflect changes in society.

I have made the point that this measure will make no practical difference, so I wonder why it is really necessary. My other point is that it would be extremely unwise and would dig up past controversies if any Catholic Prime Minister were to appoint an Anglican bishop. I hear what the hon. Member for East Wiltshire (Danny Kruger) says, but I do not think it makes sense for somebody who is an atheist, like Keir Starmer, or a Hindu or a Catholic to appoint an Anglican bishop. I just cannot see the logic in that. Frankly, the practice has been discontinued, and it will not happen again.

International Update

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

For the final question, I call Jim Shannon.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker—my legs are the strongest in the Chamber, without a doubt.

Closer alignment with Brussels has caused great alarm in Strangford and across Northern Ireland. If the Government’s idea of a reset with Europe involves further alignment, will the Prime Minister explicitly state today whether he intends permanently to lock Northern Ireland into foreign laws under an unelected European court, or will he finally take a hard line to fully restore the Acts of Union and the internal market of the United Kingdom, as we should have had from the start? “All together or not at all” must be the message.

Civil Service Pension Scheme

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 15th September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Ian Byrne]

That excellent point is well made, and I will raise it in my speech.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The civil service pension scheme is not delivering for the people who have put faith in their hard-earned income, as the hon. Gentleman said. When Capita took on the scheme, it was already facing a backlog of cases and was likely ill-equipped for the task. Serious questions must be asked about whether a sufficiently thorough assessment of Capita’s capability to take on such an important responsibility was undertaken before this transfer occurred. Should its capability to do the job it was tasked with not have been ascertained?

[Ian Byrne]

A point well made.

James Burke works for the Department for Work and Pensions in the Child Maintenance Service. James entered partial retirement, reducing his working week salary by about 20%, with his pension intended to replace the lost income and provide a lump sum. Neither has arrived. With his mortgage due for repayment on 30 July, his borrowing increased and his provider told him it could not offer a new product. James made nine calls to the helpline, sometimes waiting around two hours. He was promised resolution, then told payment was imminent before being informed that no timescale could be provided.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

When it comes to lobbying, Northern Ireland has a peculiar circumstance where one party can be involved in politics in Northern Ireland and at the same time be involved in politics in the Republic of Ireland. When it comes to the accountability that the hon. Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) is calling for, can the Minister assure us in this House and in Northern Ireland that the rules that apply here will apply equally in Northern Ireland, including to those political parties that traverse the border between the north and the south?

[Mark Ferguson]

It would not be a first outing at the Dispatch Box without a contribution from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), so I welcome his question. We will, of course, consider that in the response to the EIC.

Rewiring the State

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

The Prime Minister has been clear that we do not want to impose anything centrally on areas that do not want to combine areas. I am sure that we can facilitate a meeting or discussion in No. 10 North to ensure that we get the right authority, powers and resources for the hon. Gentleman’s area.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I welcome the First Secretary to her new role and wish her well. The hon. Lady’s appointment comes at a critical time for the United Kingdom. She will know that the fundamental pillar of our Union is fairness, and right now the funding model for Northern Ireland is anything but fair. The current Barnett consequential framework is fundamentally broken. It fails to account for the unique, severe and acute objective needs of our public services, health sector and infrastructure in Northern Ireland. Does the hon. Lady, as the Minister for the Cabinet Office and co-ordinator of Government policy, agree that rewiring the funding formula must be treated as a priority cross-Cabinet issue, and will she commit to working across the Treasury and the Northern Ireland Office to replace the outdated mechanism with a needs-based funding floor?

[Louise Haigh]

As the Prime Minister said in Prime Minister’s questions earlier, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has opened a negotiation process with Stormont to look at funding and the funding pressures that have emerged. Fundamental to that negotiation will be reform of the decisions that Stormont makes and the way that the Executive have made decisions historically, which has repeatedly led to funding pressures. We need to ensure that these negotiations result in true reform, so we do not end up in this position again.