Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a review of (a) autism services and (b) their effectiveness.

There are no current plans to make this specific assessment. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population and we expect ICBs to follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism.

NHS England publish quarterly data on how many people are waiting for an autism assessment, and for how long, by local area. The data provides useful information to support local areas to identify local demand and adequacy of services.

Workforce leads within NHS England are working to understand the gap in the specialist autism workforce. Additionally, NHS England’s recently published national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services will help the National Health Service and local authorities improve their autism assessment services and improve the experience for adults and children who are referred to an autism assessment service.