Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of average waiting times for autism assessments on other health and care services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no current plans to make this specific assessment. We recognise the importance of early identification of autism so that an individual’s needs can be identified sooner, and support put in place earlier in life.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines on autism highlight the importance of conducting an autism assessment as soon as possible so that appropriate health and social care interventions, and advice and support, can be offered. 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, in line with the NICE’s guidelines.
In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults. The operational guidance makes it clear that people should be able to access support and care from other services for needs that appear linked to physical and mental health, including while they are waiting for an autism assessment. This year, the Department is updating the Statutory Guidance on Autism to support the NHS and local authorities in delivering improved outcomes for autistic people.
Mentions:
1: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) To ensure that autistic people receive quality care in these settings, we are rolling out a National Autism - Speech Link
2: Baroness Browning (Con - Life peer) Autism is not a mental health condition but, as my noble friend the Minister will know, one of the problems - Speech Link
3: Lord Markham (Con - Life peer) We are rolling out training through the National Autism Trainer Programme, in which we have invested - Speech Link
4: Baroness Wheeler (Lab - Life peer) Thankfully, my Lords, understanding of and support for autism have changed substantially since the now - Speech Link
Dec. 21 2023
Source Page: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultationFound: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultation
Dec. 21 2023
Source Page: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultationFound: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultation
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women with autism were in mental health inpatient care settings in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The following table shows the number of female patients with either autism or autism and a learning disability in mental health care inpatient settings in England, in each of the last five years:
Year | Autism | Learning disability and autism | Total |
March 2020 | 270 | 115 | 390 |
March 2021 | 325 | 110 | 430 |
March 2022 | 375 | 110 | 485 |
March 2023 | 430 | 115 | 545 |
February 2024 | 395 | 90 | 490 |
Source: the data is taken from NHS England’s Assuring Transformation dataset, as of 28 February 2024.
Notes:
Dec. 21 2023
Source Page: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultationFound: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultation
Dec. 21 2023
Source Page: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultationFound: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultation
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children are waiting for (a) an assessment and (b) a diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The latest autism assessment waiting times data drawn from the Mental Health Services Dataset was published on 14 March 2024. This data showed that the number of people aged zero to 17 years old with an open referral for suspected autism was 102,024 in December 2023. The data also showed that, in December 2023, 6.3% of patients, or 5,443 patients, aged zero to 17 years old received a first contact appointment within 13 weeks.
Data on children and young people in this dataset is expected to be an underestimate. Caution should be used when interpreting these statistics since they are experimental rather than official statistics. The majority of children assessed for autism in the United Kingdom are seen in child development services, which are out of the scope of this dataset. This means the published figures will underestimate the volume of referrals or diagnoses and the associated impact on health services. NHS England continue to conduct exploratory analysis into the Community Services Dataset, with a view to include autism waiting times data from this dataset. This should improve the coverage of this data.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children with autism are adequately supported at school.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision Improvement Plan, the department set out a vision to improve mainstream education by setting standards for the early and accurate identification of need and the timely provision of access to support. The standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings and who is responsible for securing the support. This will give parents confidence and clarity on how their child’s needs will be met.
As part of this, the department has committed to developing practitioner standards, which were known as practice guides in the Improvement Plan, to provide advice to education professionals. At least three practitioner standards will be published by the end of 2025, one of which will be focused on autism. The department will build on existing best practice and will include guidance on how an education environment may be adapted to better support the needs of autistic pupils.
The department's Universal Services contract brings together SEND-specific continuous professional development and support for the school and further education workforce to improve outcomes for children and young people, including those who are autistic.
The contract offers autism awareness training and resources delivered by the Autism Education Trust (AET). Over 135,000 education professionals have undertaken autism awareness training as part of AET's ‘train the trainer’ model since the Universal Services programme commenced in May 2022.
Dec. 21 2023
Source Page: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultationFound: Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill: consultation