New Autism Strategy (Autism Act 2009 Committee Report)

Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)]

My Lords, I thank your Lordships for allowing me to speak in the gap; it is much appreciated. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Rock, for the opening address. I have two autistic grandchildren, and that is one of the things that has occupied a lot of my life during the time we have had them—they are wonderful. I very much thank the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, and the noble Baroness, Lady Browning, who have given me so much help over time.

I know the Minister cares about people. Care is a good word. It is not just about having a reason or a responsibility. Many things happen. I was very taken with the observation at the very beginning about people. Somebody who has played a very major part in what we are about is Professor Vivian Hill, whom many of your Lordships may know as one of the leading educational psychologists in the country. I have said many times—it is happening and the department is doing it—that we need hundreds of them to get on top of all the delays that your Lordships have talked about today.

I said several times, many years ago, that where SEND is concerned, every single head teacher must have a full SEND programme. It makes all the difference. The heads of all schools must have that. I have also suggested that it is very important indeed that everybody who is becoming a teacher should understand SEND—otherwise, nobody understands what a meltdown is all about.

I know I do not have enough time for this, but the people who suffer most, as I have seen, are the mothers. The mothers suffer hugely without very much help at all. I want to finish off by saying that, like those here, I have been to many schools, and we must do what we said we would do, care to do it and get on to do it. Over the generations, people who are autistic have been the best for music, science and all the other things that have helped the world for many centuries.