Autism: Parenting Support Programmes

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

It is a well-recognised fact that women bear the brunt of caring responsibilities, at whatever age they are presented. Raising awareness of this, making sure that it is understood and acknowledging how unfair the lack of support has been is pivotal in making sure that we arrange the support mechanisms that are required to move us forward.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, further to the question from the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, about charities, I declare an interest because I am involved with a number of autistic charities in my old constituency in King’s Lynn and across Norfolk. Is the Minister aware that one of the biggest challenges is when these children who are on the autistic spectrum come out of college and try to find their way into further training or jobs? Can she comment specifically on what the Government are doing to help that transition?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

The noble Lord touches on a particular obsession of mine. It is not just about the transition into adulthood, which is absolutely pivotal, but starts earlier than that and is about the transition through the different stages of education. We need to make sure that we completely get away from the awful situation where young people fall through the gaps and there is no information exchange. That is why cross-government working is so critical here. We need the education sector to talk to the health sector and DWP, to make sure that we have a holistic view of young people so that they can move on to the appropriate location and get the right support.