Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of a 'stepped care' system for autistic people to identify and address new support needs in a timely manner.

No specific assessment has been made. However, in 2019 the public call for evidence to inform the development of the autism strategy sought views on autistic people’s access to post-diagnosis support as an element of a stepped care system. This found that 34% of autistic respondents and 46% of carer respondents said they did not receive support after diagnosis.

In 2021/22, we provided £31 million to improve community services for autistic people and people with a learning disability services. This included £7 million to test and implement timely, quality autism diagnosis and post-diagnosis pathways. Additionally, we are investing £69 million in 2022/2023 to prevent avoidable admissions and improve community support for autistic people and people with a learning disability.