Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of enabling directors of children's services to commission CAMHS on the holistic provision for (a) children and (b) children with neurodiversity.

No assessment has been made of the potential impact of enabling directors of children’s services to commission Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services on holistic provision for children, including those with neurodiversity.

The Government’s priority is to ensure that health and children’s social care work together effectively to provide timely, joined-up support for children and young people. This is being delivered through integrated care systems, which bring National Health Services and local authorities together to plan and deliver care collaboratively.

The Government recently announced a three-year pilot to improve mental health support for children in care by bringing together social workers and NHS professionals. Additionally, programmes such as ‘Early Language Support for Every Child’ and ‘Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools’ promote early intervention, alongside special educational needs and disabilities reforms in the forthcoming Schools White Paper.