Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to discuss future plans for services for autistic people with (1) Ambitious about Autism, (2) Autistica, (3) Autism Action, (4) the National Autistic Society, and (5) Autism Alliance UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We remain committed to working together across Government and with national autism charities to improve services and outcomes for autistic people.
On 23 January, we published our response to the House of Lords Autism Act 2009 Inquiry Committee’s report Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy. We are carefully considering the report’s recommendations as well as our approach to the national autism strategy and will set out a position, including our plans to engage with stakeholders, in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a new national autism strategy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Autism Act 2009 places a duty on my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to consult on, publish, and keep under review a national strategy for meeting the needs of autistic adults in England. My Rt Hon. Friend may choose to revise the strategy, and if so, must publish it as revised.
On 23 January 2026, we published our response to the House of Lords Autism Act 2009 Inquiry Committee’s report Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy. We are carefully considering the report’s recommendations, as well as our approach to developing a new national autism strategy and will set out a position in due course. The current strategy will remain in effect until a revised strategy is published.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proposals they intend to take forward in the 10 Year Health Plan for England in relation to services for autistic people.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out to make the National Health Service fit for the future, by delivering three big shifts, from hospital to care in community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. The plan will help to address health inequalities for disabled and autistic people by improving access to care, delivering care closer to home, and supporting the development of holistic care plans for those whose needs may require support from multiple health and care providers. We want autistic people’s access to, and experience of, healthcare services to be equitable, effective, and responsive to their needs.
The plan sets out the core principle of early intervention and support, including without the need for diagnosis, including specifically for children and young people, such as those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It is clear about the importance of health services working in partnership with education settings and providing children and young people with early intervention and support to avoid needs escalating, where possible, building on learning from programmes such as Early Language Support for Every Child. We will set out our proposals for SEND reform in the upcoming Schools White Paper.
NHS England continues to support local systems to use a national framework and operational guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. It has published national guidance on meeting the needs of autistic adults in mental health services and, to address physical health inequalities, is currently testing a combined health check in primary care for autistic people, those with a severe mental health condition and/or those people with a learning disability.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why the number of child recipients of the Disability Living Allowance is increasing.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There have been steady increases over the last two decades in the number of children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLAc), from 230,000 in May 2002 to 840,000 in May 2025, excluding Scotland claims. These increases are driven primarily by increases in the number of claimants with learning difficulties (including Autism Spectrum Disorder), hyperkinetic syndrome (including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and behavioural disorders which have increased from 48% of the caseload in May 2002 to 83% in May 2025.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to move the LeDeR programme onto a statutory footing to mandate the implementation of its findings following the data failures and publication delays associated with the 2023 LeDeR report.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to move the Learning from lives and deaths – people with a learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR) programme onto a statutory footing. NHS England’s national LeDeR policy sets out a clear governance framework and expectation that integrated care boards (ICBs) should prioritise LeDeR reviews within their delivery plans and ensure that actions are implemented to improve services and reduce premature mortality for their local populations. Each ICB is also expected to have an Executive Lead for LeDeR and to produce an annual report about their local LeDeR findings, and to have an Executive Lead on learning disability and autism.
There are strong expectations and accountability mechanisms in place, which aligns with the ambition of the 10-Year Health Plan to distribute power to local systems and drive more holistic, ongoing support in the community. ICBs are held accountable to reduce health inequalities for people with a learning disability through existing national and local governance processes such as the NHS Operating Framework, annual assessments of delivery, and core performance indicators, including on LeDeR, to support improvement activities across all ICBs.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) public understanding of clinical mental health terminology, and (2) whether misunderstandings in language contribute to increased demand for clinical services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment of public understanding of clinical mental health terminology, nor whether misunderstandings in language contribute to increased demand for clinical services.
The independent review into mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism will look to understand and provide clarity on the similarities and differences between mental health conditions. It will examine the quality of evidence on what is driving demand, to determine which trends reflect real increase in disorder, which reflect changes in awareness or access, and which are artefacts of measurement or definition. The review will produce a short report setting out conclusions and recommendations for responding to rising need, both within government and across the health system and wider public services.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the remit of the independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism will include research into the impact of the language used to discuss mental health conditions on patients, clinicians and the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As an independent review, it is for the Chairs to determine the scope of their work, the issues they examine, and the outputs and recommendations they choose to make.
This review will be critical in identifying new models of support and pathways, within and beyond the National Health Service, that prioritise prevention and early intervention. It will also provide evidence‑based recommendations to improve outcomes, reduce inequalities and ensure timely support.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding he plans to make available to Integrated Care Boards to meet demand for ADHD and Autism assessments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for determining allocations of financial resources to integrated care boards (ICBs). Funding for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism assessments are included within NHS England’s financial allocations to ICBs. The process of setting allocations is informed by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, an independent committee that provides advice to NHS England on setting the target formula which impacts how allocations are distributed over time.
ICB allocations for 2026/27 to 2028/29 were published on 17 November 2025, and are avaiable at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2026-27-to-2027-28/
Through the Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experiences, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the influence of (1) social media, and (2) greater public awareness, on self-diagnosis and subsequent formal diagnosis of mental health conditions; and what guidance they have provided to clinicians about those influences.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2019, the UK Chief Medical Officers published a commentary on the findings of a systematic review on screen-based activities and children’s mental health. They found an association between screen-based activities and mental health but could not establish causality. The commentary is avaiable in the document attached.
On 20 January 2026, the Government announced a forthcoming consultation on how to ensure children have a healthy relationship with devices, introduce rapid trials on measures to reduce screentime and limit access at night, and produce evidence-informed screentime guidance for parents of children aged five to 16 years old. This three-month consultation will be evidence-led, with input from independent experts, and will include determining the right minimum age for children to access social media. It will report in the summer.
Over the past decade, greater public awareness and reduced stigma around mental health have coincided with a rise in common mental health conditions and increased demand for National Health Service support, highlighting the need to better understand and address people’s needs.
The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism will therefore examine a range of potential drivers of mental health conditions, the impact of clinical practice, including the role of diagnosis, opportunities for prevention and early intervention, and models of support within and beyond the NHS.
The review’s Terms of Reference are published on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on meeting national targets on Autism and ADHD assessments in children.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions on a wide range of matters, including with trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs).
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.
It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to neurodevelopmental assessments.
Through the Medium-term planning framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.