Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to put in place specialist services to help tackle changes in the level of ADHD diagnoses of (a) men and (b) boys.

We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) and National Health Service trusts to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when commissioning and providing services for people. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, in line with these NICE guidelines.

We are taking steps to improve data on ADHD which will be important in determining where further action may need to be taken to support people, including men and boys. Assessments, diagnosis, and the provision of support for people with ADHD are carried out in various care settings. Data on the number of people waiting for an ADHD diagnosis and how long they have been waiting is not currently collected nationally but may be held locally by NHS trusts or ICBs. We are exploring options for improving data collection and reporting on ADHD assessment waiting times. In line with this, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has recently commissioned a research project to provide initial insights into local ADHD diagnosis waiting times data collection.

NHS England is also currently scoping a national programme of work on ADHD.