Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that sufficient numbers of clinicians capable of diagnosing and treating autism are being trained in (a) Hull and (b) England.

It is the responsibility of local employers to ensure that they have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills available to provide a high quality service to their patients. Locally there should be specialist training for those in roles that have a direct impact on and make decisions about people with autism.

This will be re-enforced in new statutory guidance on autism for local authorities and the National Health Service which is to be issued shortly. In addition clinical staff such as psychiatrists and clinical psychologists should be undertaking their own clinical professional development. In support of this Health Education England will provide support in raising awareness of autism. In Hull, the clinical commissioning group is working with local providers, particularly Humber NHS Foundation Trust, to recruit additional staff for its Autism Diagnosis Team.