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 reduce the wait times for children’s neurodevelopmental pathway assessments.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, the demand for assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions, and specifically autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has grown significantly in recent years, and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support, without the need for diagnosis, particularly for children and young people.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including provision of neurodevelopmental services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and following a recent diagnosis of autism. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.

NHS England has also established an ADHD taskforce which is bringing together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June, with the final report expected to be published later in the year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.

The Government is also supporting inclusive environments and earlier intervention for children through the Early Language Support for Every Child and the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programmes.