Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling the NHS to access and share data from social services for assessing for autism.

No specific assessment has been made. On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service and local authorities improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service. As referenced in the guidance, as part of an assessment process, when feasible, and consent-permitting, it can be useful to speak with professionals who are currently or have recently been in contact with the person, such as professionals working in health and social care, education, the criminal justice system or third sector organisations. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/operational-guidance-to-deliver-improved-outcomes-in-all-age-autism-assessment-pathways-guidance-for-integrated-care-boards/

In addition, we expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on autism when commissioning services, including autism assessments. 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.