Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the waiting list for individuals seeking to obtain a diagnosis for (a) autism and (b) ADHD.

In 2021/22 we invested £13 million to reduce autism diagnosis waiting times. This included £10.5 million to enable local systems to test different diagnostic pathways, explore ways to reduce waiting times and address backlogs caused by the pandemic. We invested £2.5 million in 2022/23 to test and implement methods of reducing waiting times for children and young people. In addition, we are working with local authority children’s social care, education services and charities to support neurodivergent children, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their families, through the diagnostic process.