Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of people who use the Access to Work scheme for mental health support have a diagnosed condition.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not held centrally and extracting this information would require manual examination of individual records and exceed the cost limit.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much has been spent on mental health support as part of the Access to Work scheme in each of the past five years, broken down by mental health condition.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Although the Department holds information on the mental health conditions of Access to Work customers and the specific types of support they receive, information on specific mental health conditions and how much has been spent on mental health support is not readily accessible. The required information is recorded as descriptive free-text information and extracting it would require manual review of individual records.

While we cannot provide total expenditure on mental health support, the Access to Work official statistics do report expenditure for customers whose primary medical condition is a mental health condition, as well as for the Mental Health Support Service, as seen in the table below.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 January (HL13547), what is the expected completion date of the review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission draft Code of Practice.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The EHRC has submitted its draft Code to Ministers, and we are reviewing it with the care it deserves. It is crucial that providers have legally robust guidance on how to apply the Equality Act, which is why we are considering the draft Code properly.

We have always been clear that the proper process needs to be followed. The Code will have implications for service providers up and down the country so it is important that we get this right.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions are protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 within public sector services.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) defines disability as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The Act defines long-term in this context as having lasted, or being likely to last for at least 12 months, or likely to last for the rest of the life of the person.

Mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions can therefore meet the Act’s definition, where their impact is in line with these requirements.

Where a person's condition meets the Act’s definition, the employment provisions in the Act make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against disabled employees and applicants.

The Act makes it clear that businesses and public bodies that provide goods and services must not unlawfully discriminate against disabled people, including those who may not have physical disabilities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there is sufficient clinical evidence to justify the use of public money to diagnose someone as neurodiverse.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting MP) announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our new approach to mental health, so people receive the right support, at the right time and in the right place. Likewise, the review will inform our approach so that people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autistic people have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the lessons to be learned from the special educational needs reforms introduced by the government of Wales; and what consideration they have given to introducing similar reforms in England.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department has already consulted with colleagues in the Welsh government on analysis published in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) consultation document comparing rates of special education needs across both nations. The use of data to assess the efficacy of the Welsh SEND reforms introduced in 2021 was not feasible due to variation at school and local authority level.

We will continue to work with the devolved governments as we progress the proposals set out in the SEND consultation document, as well as preparations for future legislation, to ensure that legislative impacts are fully understood and addressed.