Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department’s proposed new neurodiversity unit plans to take to ensure that the needs of neurodivergent people are met across the Government.

The Government is committed to supporting people with neurodevelopmental conditions to live well.

We are currently reviewing the adult autism strategy and, working with the Department for Education, will be extending the scope of the strategy to include children. The refreshed strategy will be published by the end of the year.

We are also working closely with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and their Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Implementation Working Group to look at how the current NICE guidance and quality standard on ADHD are being implemented. This work includes looking to identify best practice and examples of innovation, which have improved outcomes for people with ADHD, so that these can be widely disseminated to commissioners to improve local practice.

We are considering what additional actions can be taken to support those with other neurodevelopmental conditions to ensure that their needs are met.