Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average time taken for autism diagnosis was by age and gender at time of diagnosis for each year from 2013.

We do not centrally collect data from the National Health Service on waiting times for an assessment of autism.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guideline on autism diagnosis states that a diagnostic assessment should start within 12 weeks of referral.

NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services have undertaken a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to identify best practice on diagnosis and support.