Adult Autism

Monday 20th December 2010 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow)]

I am announcing today the Government’s publication of “Implementing Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives”, guidance for local authorities and NHS organisations to secure implementation of the autism strategy. I launched this guidance at a conference convened by the National Autistic Society on 17 December 2010. A copy of the guidance has been placed in the Library. Copies are available to hon. Members from the Vote Office and to noble Lords from the Printed Paper Office.

This statutory guidance has been published in fulfilment of the requirements in the Autism Act 2009 that the Secretary of State publish a strategy on services for adults with autism in England by 1 April 2010, and issue statutory guidance no later than 31 December 2010.

The strategy “Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives” was published on 3 March 2010. This Government have made a very clear and firm commitment to drive forward work to tackle the disadvantage which people with autism and their families sadly so often face, and to step up the pace to deliver that strategy.

The purpose of this guidance is to secure the implementation of the Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives strategy. It gives guidance to local authorities, NHS bodies and NHS foundation trusts on issues set out in the Autism Act. This guidance will help these bodies to develop services that support and meet the locally identified needs of people with autism and their families and carers and enable local transparency and accountability.

As set out in section 3 of the Autism Act, this guidance is to be treated as though it were guidance issued under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Service Act 1970 (LASS Act). This means that local authorities must

“follow the path charted by the guidance, with liberty to deviate from it where the authority judges on admissible grounds that there is good reason to do so, but without freedom to take a substantially different course.”

Though the LASS Act does not directly apply to NHS bodies, the Autism Act makes clear that for the purposes of this guidance

“an NHS body is to be treated as if it were a local authority within the meaning of the LASS Act”.

The guidance focuses on the key areas required by the Act, in each case identifying what health and social services bodies are already expected to do, and setting out any additional requirements introduced by the strategy. An underlying principle is to avoid new burdens.

This guidance has been informed by an extensive consultation on draft guidance between July and October this year.

The Secretary of State has a duty, under the Autism Act, to keep the strategy under review: as part of this, the guidance will also remain under review and will be updated as required.