Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of of the time taken to obtain an autism diagnosis on (a) children with autism and (b) their parents.

This specific assessment has not been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) highlights the importance of conducting an autism assessment as soon as possible so that appropriate health and social care interventions, advice and support can be offered. The waiting time standard recommended by NICE is for a maximum waiting time of 13 weeks between a referral for an autism assessment and a first appointment. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population and meet the NICE Guidelines.

NHS England has recently published a national framework to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways and Operational Guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. The guidance aims to support integrated care systems to make the best of their resources by setting out how pathways can best be delivered, and is supplementary to the NICE guidance. This will improve the experience of people, including children and their parents, who are awaiting an autism assessment.