Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will work with NHS England & Improvement to establish an autism diagnosis waiting time standard.

We are committed to ensuring people receive a timely diagnosis of autism in line with the clinical guideline set by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). This guideline recommends the length of time between referral and a first appointment to start an assessment should be no more than three months.

Whilst a diagnosis of autism should happen as soon as possible, it is important to recognise that a diagnosis is often complex and involves many different professionals and agencies. We are following the clinical guideline set by NICE.

Under the NHS Long Term Plan, over the next three years, autism diagnosis will be included alongside work with children and young people’s mental health services to test and implement the most effective ways to reduce waiting times for specialist services. This will be a step towards achieving timely diagnostic assessments in line with best practice guidelines. The Department will support NHS England and NHS Improvement’s work on this.