Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure children with autism receive adequate support in Ashfield constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting people with neurodevelopmental conditions, including autistic people of all ages. Autistic children and people should have the right support in place, tailored to their individual needs, to live well in their communities. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, and reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system focus on improving early intervention and support.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to appropriate mental health support and services, as well as access to autism assessments and support, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Through the Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity. There are also clear expectations that ICBs and providers fulfil their statutory SEND duties and support the Government’s SEND reform plans.
The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB is working with system partners to review children and young people’s autism services and pathways to improve access to a system-wide, stepped support offer that aligns with current and emerging guidance.
The service aims to launch a new support and assessment model from April 2027. However, the autism support pathway redesign is part of a broader spectrum of work and transformation, owned by the health, care, and education system across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, and is a key priority in delivery plans for both city and county SEND programmes.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce assessment times for autism diagnoses.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, and reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system focus on improving early intervention and support.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to appropriate mental health support and services, as well as access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Through the Medium-term planning framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.
In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, which can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance
This guidance intends to help the NHS improve autism assessment services and the experience for those referred to a service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism, based on the available evidence.
Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.
In December, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, launched an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism. This review will inform a new approach to mental health that reduces waiting times, improves the quality of care, and promotes prevention and early intervention.
The review’s interim report, published at the end of March, sets out the evidence reviewed so far on prevalence, describes the impact of rising demand for diagnosis and support, identifies where the evidence is uncertain, and outlines the key questions for the next phase. The final report, due in the summer, will make recommendations on how the Government, the health system, and wider public services can respond to increasing demand for support more fairly and effectively so that people receive the right support, at the right time, in the right place.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the signs of autism in adults.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting people with neurodevelopmental conditions, including autistic people, and we are taking action to increase awareness and understanding of autism across the health and social care sector, education, and employment.
The Health and Care Act 2022 requires that, from 1 July 2022, health and care providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) must ensure their staff receive specific training on autism appropriate to their role. This will ensure that health and care staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and appropriate care for autistic people. As part of this, significant progress has been made to roll out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism which has been designed and is delivered alongside people with lived experience. Over three million people have now completed the e-learning component of the training and the statutory Code of Practice for this training has been published.
NHS England has also taken action to increase understanding of autism within mental health services specifically by supporting the transition of the National Autism Trainer Programme in mental health services to become embedded 'business as usual' training. 5,000 trainers have been trained who will be cascading the training to teams across mental health services, residential special schools and colleges, and youth justice settings. NHS England also commissioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists to deliver the National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists, with over 300 psychiatrists trained in the past three years.
Work is also underway to raise awareness of autism in education settings. The Schools White Paper, Every child achieving and thriving, and consultation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms published on 23 February outline plans to increase education staff understanding of SEND, including autism, through improved training and better access to experts, building on the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme. The Every child achieving and thriving White Paper is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/every-child-achieving-and-thriving
The Government is also committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity, including autism, in the workplace and the Department for Work and Pensions launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity in January 2025 to advise on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work.
Government responsibility for delivering research into autism is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation, which includes the Medical Research Council (MRC).
The MRC generally focusses on early biomedical research, including cellular and animal models, while the NIHR funds translational and applied research, where treatments and interventions are tested in real world populations and health and care settings. An example of NIHR investment in autism research is the £2.8 million SAFE trial, which aims to develop interventions to better support and improve the wellbeing of families of autistic children. As well as funding research itself, the Department of Health and Social Care invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services, and collaborations to support and deliver research in England, known as NIHR infrastructure. This includes the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, which has supported research into the brain signalling of individuals with autism to help develop a range of targeted medicine choices.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including autism.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department have taken to help support research into the causes of autism.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting people with neurodevelopmental conditions, including autistic people, and we are taking action to increase awareness and understanding of autism across the health and social care sector, education, and employment.
The Health and Care Act 2022 requires that, from 1 July 2022, health and care providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) must ensure their staff receive specific training on autism appropriate to their role. This will ensure that health and care staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and appropriate care for autistic people. As part of this, significant progress has been made to roll out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism which has been designed and is delivered alongside people with lived experience. Over three million people have now completed the e-learning component of the training and the statutory Code of Practice for this training has been published.
NHS England has also taken action to increase understanding of autism within mental health services specifically by supporting the transition of the National Autism Trainer Programme in mental health services to become embedded 'business as usual' training. 5,000 trainers have been trained who will be cascading the training to teams across mental health services, residential special schools and colleges, and youth justice settings. NHS England also commissioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists to deliver the National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists, with over 300 psychiatrists trained in the past three years.
Work is also underway to raise awareness of autism in education settings. The Schools White Paper, Every child achieving and thriving, and consultation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms published on 23 February outline plans to increase education staff understanding of SEND, including autism, through improved training and better access to experts, building on the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme. The Every child achieving and thriving White Paper is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/every-child-achieving-and-thriving
The Government is also committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity, including autism, in the workplace and the Department for Work and Pensions launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity in January 2025 to advise on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work.
Government responsibility for delivering research into autism is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation, which includes the Medical Research Council (MRC).
The MRC generally focusses on early biomedical research, including cellular and animal models, while the NIHR funds translational and applied research, where treatments and interventions are tested in real world populations and health and care settings. An example of NIHR investment in autism research is the £2.8 million SAFE trial, which aims to develop interventions to better support and improve the wellbeing of families of autistic children. As well as funding research itself, the Department of Health and Social Care invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services, and collaborations to support and deliver research in England, known as NIHR infrastructure. This includes the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, which has supported research into the brain signalling of individuals with autism to help develop a range of targeted medicine choices.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including autism.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to support research into (a) causes and (b) treatment of bowel cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation, which includes the Medical Research Council (MRC).
The MRC generally focusses on early biomedical research, including cellular and animal models, while the NIHR funds translational and applied research, where treatments and interventions are tested in real world populations and health and care settings.
The Department of Health and Social Care recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer, including bowel cancer. We are supporting research into bowel cancer across a range of areas.
This includes, for example, over £2.2 million of NIHR investment in the CONSCOP2 study, a randomised controlled trial designed to investigate a new approach to screening for right sided bowel cancer.
As well as funding research itself, the Department of Health and Social Care invests significantly in centres of excellence and collaborations, services, and facilities to support health and care research. Collectively these form the NIHR infrastructure. The NIHR infrastructure works with patients, clinicians, academics, and health services to support research into the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of bowel cancer. This includes the development of novel diagnostics, biomarkers, and therapeutic approaches as well as ensuring that effective bowel cancer innovations, once proven, are implemented nationally.
The NIHR continues to welcome high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including bowel cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
In addition, the National Cancer Plan has patients at its heart and covers the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It seeks to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. This plan prepares the National Health Service to seize scientific breakthroughs, so patients benefit from the full power of modern innovation, by trialing new technologies such as the COLOFIT algorithm for bowel cancer.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential link between increases in digital communication methods and speech, language and communication needs in children.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that digital devices are now a part of most children’s lives, and that their impact on development, health, and behaviour is complex and not yet fully understood. Last month, the Government published advice on screen use for children aged zero to five years old, which is available at the following link:
https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/screen-time-under-5s/
The Government has also launched the Children’s Digital Wellbeing consultation on measures to ensure children have healthy relationships with technology, mobile phones, and social media. The consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
In addition, the Government will produce evidence-based screen time guidance for parents of children aged five to 16 years old.
We continue to learn from ongoing studies including the Children of the 2020s longitudinal study, which is available at the following link:
https://children2020s.ipsos.com/
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the waiting time for NHS children’s speech and language therapy support in (a) Ashfield, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) nationally.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.
The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) recognises that waiting times for children’s speech and language therapy (SLT) remain too long in parts of Nottinghamshire, including Ashfield, and is taking action with system partners to improve access.
Since the 2023 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspection of local services for children and young people with SEND, the ICB and partners have undertaken targeted transformation activity, including:
- introduction of a SLT advice line to support earlier intervention;
- refocusing clinical capacity to address long waits in autism pathways; and
- piloting open-access early years drop-in sessions for children under four year olds.
A revised service delivery model is being implemented across SLT pathways, including:
- group assessment of all two to three year olds;
- increased use of group-based therapy and parent-supported interventions; and
- enhanced parent/carer training to support children at home.
These changes will be implemented alongside additional improvements to the model, including building workforce capacity and capability and improving support to schools and early years settings.
Nationally, ICBs are being supported to reduce waiting times through an evidence informed Children and Young People Community Speech and Language Therapy Toolkit developed with speech and language therapists, children, families, and carers.
We have set a clear target through the Medium-Term Planning Framework for systems to work to reduce long waits for community health services, including speech and language therapy.
By 2028/29, at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks. This will be a key part of the shift from hospital to community. In 2026/27, ICBs and community health services providers must also develop plans to eliminate 52 week waits. Whilst targets are not service-line specific, capacity growth and waiting time targets should impact positively on children and young people’s speech and language therapy services.
NHS England is also working with the Department for Education to identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs to deliver the Early Language Support for Every Child programme in Early Years and Primary School settings. This programme is funding innovative workforce models to support early intervention for children with unidentified speech, language, and communication needs which may reduce exacerbation of need that might lead to a specialist speech and language therapist and/or Education Health Care Plan referral in the medium-term.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the bilateral criminal records sharing agreements with (a) Albania, (b) Kosovo and (c) the Five Eyes Alliance when vetting individuals seeking residency in the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We take the issue of preventing foreign criminals entering the UK extremely seriously, and we continue to strengthen our borders so that we can prevent crime and protect the public, delivering on this Government’s commitment totackle foreign criminality.
For example, those required to obtain a visa to enter the UK are checkedagainst a range of police, security and immigration databases for details of any UK or overseas criminal record. All applicants are required to provide details of their criminal history. Where it is found that they failed to declare relevantoffences/convictions, their application will be refused, and they will be subject to a ten-year ban from applying to enter the UK.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of information-sharing through INTERPOL channels with non-EU member states on individuals seeking residency in the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We take the issue of preventing foreign criminals entering the UK extremely seriously, and we continue to strengthen our borders so that we can prevent crime and protect the public, delivering on this Government’s commitment totackle foreign criminality.
For example, those required to obtain a visa to enter the UK are checkedagainst a range of police, security and immigration databases for details of any UK or overseas criminal record. All applicants are required to provide details of their criminal history. Where it is found that they failed to declare relevantoffences/convictions, their application will be refused, and they will be subject to a ten-year ban from applying to enter the UK.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking to ensure people arriving from (a) EU states and (b) non-EU sates are subject to criminal record checks when entering the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force performs checks on 100% of passengers arriving at the UK border on scheduled services, enabling interventions against those known or suspected to pose a risk to the national interest.
Border Force work alongside other law enforcement agencies at the border and will share information and refer cases when necessary to detect and deter criminality.