Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average waiting time was for a child to be assessed for an Education, Health Care Plan after receiving a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in (a) the London Borough of Southwark, (b) London and (c) England in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Under the Children and Families Act 2014, parents and schools are able to apply for an assessment for an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan without the need for a diagnosis to have already been made.

Data is collected by the department on assessments for EHC plans that are completed within their 20 week target. This is published in the ‘Statements of SEN and EHC plans: England, 2018’ publication available here – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2018 .