Neurodiversity: Children
(asked on 2nd March 2026) - View Source
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 commissioning controls, including Indicative Activity Plans, on access to children’s ADHD and autism assessments.
Patients have a legal Right to Choose their provider when referred for National Health Service funded eligible care.
In 2023, NHS England published National framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services aimed at supporting those in commissioning roles during their commissioning cycles and operational guidance to support and inform decision-making at service level. These two guidance documents are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/
Integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring that their processes comply with the legal Right to Choose.
NHS England is aware that commissioning controls on levels of assessment activity have been set by some commissioners and is working with systems to develop a supporting document to the NHS Payment Scheme 2026/27 statutory consultation to help identify the costs associated with undertaking autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments. This aims to help guide the pricing and create a more equitable and consistent approach to the autism and ADHD assessment payment process. NHS England published the NHS Standard Contract which requires integrated care boards (ICBs) to agree indicative activity plans (IAPs) for any service area which is variably funded, to aid in planning and capacity and demand management. IAPs are planning tools which do not restrict activity carried out by a provider.
The NHS Medium Term Planning Framework requires ICBs to undertake thorough demand and capacity planning and to strategically commission services that meet the needs of their patient population. ICBs may need to prioritise certain areas of care for their patient population, which may include managing planned assessment activity in some areas through Activity Management Plans.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our new approach to mental health, so people receive the right support, at the right time and in the right place. Likewise, the review will inform our approach so that people with ADHD and autistic people have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.