Autism

Debate between Robert Halfon and Cheryl Gillan

Thursday 29th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dame Cheryl Gillan]

The hon. Gentleman anticipates another bit of my speech. That is really important, because people with autism are disproportionately not being taken off the unemployment register. In fact only yesterday, with the all-party group for disability, I had a joint meeting with the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills to look at the problems and consider how, working with employers’ organisations and the Government, we can try to improve the situation.

More councils now include autism in their joint strategic needs assessment, and almost every local area has a diagnostic pathway—those that do not will know who they are, but all but three are covered. That is really significant progress, but let us face it there is not a person in the House who does not know that we need to make more progress in this area, so I do not say that with any sense of complacency whatsoever.

I want to touch on a few areas, but I have only limited time. I have been very impressed by the number of Members on both sides of the House who have put in to speak, and it is really important that I hear from them.

I will start by talking briefly about education. My hon. Friends the Members for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman) and for Lewes (Maria Caulfield) recently chaired an inquiry into autism and education under the umbrella of the APPG. They did some fantastic work, looking at how the education system in England currently works for children. The inquiry involved evidence sessions and surveys, and took additional evidence from more than 3,000 parents, professionals and people on the autism spectrum. It found that children are being held back from achieving their full potential because they are autistic. In our surveys, nearly 70% of parents told us that they had waited for more than six months for support at school, and 50% had waited for more than a year.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on leading this debate. As a distinguished former Cabinet Minister, she could be drinking piña coladas in her garden in Amersham, yet she dedicates her life to helping with autism. Is she aware that autistic children are four times more likely to be permanently excluded than other children?

[Dame Cheryl Gillan]

My right hon. Friend, who chairs the Education Committee with distinction, is absolutely right. That is why I am so pleased that this year, for the first time, the Government are putting a compulsory autism module into initial teacher training. That is significant, and I hope that my right hon. Friend’s Committee might look into that provision.

The inquiry of my hon. Friends the Members for Bexhill and Battle and for Lewes also found that four in 10 families were initially turned away when asking for the extra help that their child needs. To address these challenges, we have recommended that the Department for Education develops an autism strategy. That call has been enthusiastically taken up by the National Autistic Society and Ambitious about Autism, which launched the Held Back campaign to support the report’s recommendations.

More than 20,000 people, including 70 Members of this House and the House of Lords, have signed an open letter to the Secretary of State for Education calling for the report’s recommendations to be implemented. It is really important that Lord Agnew, the Under-Secretary of State for the school system, comes forward with the Department’s response, as it has confirmed that it will respond to the inquiry. It will be good to hear what it is doing to make improvements in this area.

I turn to the autism employment gap, which is a major problem.

Adult Autism Strategy

Debate between Robert Halfon and Cheryl Gillan

Wednesday 5th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Clark. As you know, I always approve of a woman being in the Chair. It is a great privilege to open this debate today. I am pleased to see so many colleagues from both sides of the House joining the debate, which reflects the importance of the subject.

I understand that the Department of Health plans to publish its revised version of the adult autism strategy for England on 2 April, coinciding with world autism awareness day. Today’s debate is therefore timely for us to identify for the Minister what we think and what our constituents have told us are the key priorities for the revision of the strategy. I look forward to hearing from the Minister about the Government’s plans, particularly those to take forward the actions that people require, because we need support for the estimated 460,000 adults with autism in this country.

It is just over four years since my private Member’s Bill on autism became the Autism Act 2009. I still thank colleagues on both sides of the House for making that possible. The passing of the Act was an important landmark in the battle to improve the lives of adults with autism in England. I want to thank everyone, including the people who at first opposed the Bill but who came round to my way of thinking, because they made the Act the first disability-specific legislation ever to be passed in this House.

As we all know, autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates and makes sense of the world around them. It is a spectrum condition, meaning that it affects people in different ways, making awareness of the diagnosis even more important.

Back in the ’90s, my colleague, Angela Browning, now Baroness Browning—some hon. Members will remember her—made me only too well aware of what happens to adults with autism, particularly if they are being isolated or ignored. Over the years, awareness grew of the needs of adults and children with autism, but even by 2009, there was still no meaningful recognition at Government level of the challenges faced by adults.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing this debate on a subject that is incredibly important. Is she aware that 85% of adults with autism in the UK are not in full-time employment? Translating that to my own area, Essex, that is around 7,000 people. The Government have set up Disability Confident, which helps people with disabilities to get into work, but it does not focus on people with autism. My local autism charity—

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[Robert Halfon]

My local autism charity, Parents and Children Together for Autism, has set up a pilot apprenticeship scheme focusing on people with autism. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that should be rolled out across the country?

[Mrs Gillan]

I congratulate my hon. Friend’s local charity on setting up that apprenticeship scheme. That is important. When I started looking at autism all those years ago, one of the interesting things I realised was how valuable people on the spectrum can be. They can make a fantastic contribution to businesses right across the board. Apprenticeship schemes should be looked at quite carefully by the Government. If there is an example in my hon. Friend’s constituency, I am sure that the Minister will take it on board and perhaps even arrange a visit to see how it operates.

Adults with autism were still being overlooked by local services back in 2009. They were falling through the gap between learning disability and mental health services, because no one had responsibility for taking a lead locally to ensure that appropriate services and support were being developed for adults with autism.

The diagnosis can become more complex as a person gets older and often needs a referral to a specialist centre, for which out-of-area contracts are often needed. Some local authorities are doing that, but some, I am afraid, are not. That is why the Autism Act was so important. As a piece of disability-specific legislation, it set a legislative framework for that gap to be closed and for the responsibility to improve support for adults with autism to cover every local area.

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[Mrs Gillan]

I am grateful for that intervention. This place is about making legislation, both primary and secondary, but for each and every one of us as MPs, it is those individual cases that strike home to our hearts. It is a valuable role for an MP to bring individual cases to the attention of the House, as the hon. Lady has done, because it makes both our laws and their implementation better. I think that we will all have stories of families and individuals in our constituencies who need more help, and there is nothing more moving than a parent coming to plead for help for their child.

[Robert Halfon]

The NAS has highlighted that only 10% of adults with autism receive employment support but 53% would like to receive it. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need to focus on that issue?

[Mrs Gillan]

Yes. I rely a great deal on statistics from the NAS, which does detailed work in this area. It is still a crying shame that we have wasted capacity and wasted lives in this area, and we should not stand idly by and let that happen.

Having said that, I am gratified by what has been achieved so far in improving the support at the front line. Just for starters, almost all areas now have someone who is responsible for improving services for adults with autism. It might not seem much, but that development alone has been a mighty step forward. I will also highlight some progress in my own constituency of Chesham and Amersham where there are two clinical commissioning groups and they have agreed that one of them will take the lead on autism issues for the whole county, identifying within the two CCGs a GP who will take work on autism forward. That is the sort of activity that I want to see being replicated across the country.

Elsewhere, I know that some excellent and innovative practice has emerged on issues such as training and diagnosis. Sadly, however, as I am sure other colleagues will testify, progress is still patchy and many areas have not made progress as rapidly as we had all hoped for when the Act was passed.

Research by the NAS shows that, four years on from the passage of the Act, many adults with autism are still waiting—unjustly, in my view—for the support they need. Seventy per cent of adults with autism who responded to the recent NAS survey said they are not receiving the help they need from social services, and more than a third of respondents said that they needed help with simply washing and dressing. In addition, two thirds of respondents said they needed help to prepare a meal and 83% said that they needed support to pay a bill or to deal with letters. Those are things that we all do every day of the week, but in the majority of cases adults with autism are unable to get help from their local council to deal with them.

There is also a lack of clarification between low-level and high-level support. Low-level support services are often right for individuals, as they can prevent them from developing more complex problems and therefore can be almost disproportionately cost-effective. My grandmother used to have a saying about such situations: “A stitch in time saves nine.” That is exactly the principle that we should apply in this area.

The impact of such a lack of support is quite clear. The NAS research indicates that a third of adults with autism have developed a severe mental health problem because they lack support. Of course, the statistics vary slightly, but one statistic I will cite is that just 15% of adults with autism are currently in full-time work. We must urge our local authorities to press on, and the necessary support and impetus must come from Government.

The good news is that we are to have a refreshed strategy—it is the Heineken moment for the Minister. I will turn now to the priorities for that refreshed strategy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robert Halfon and Cheryl Gillan

Wednesday 27th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Gillan]

I agree that if there are lessons to be learned from the Welsh Government, we must learn them, but the hon. Lady must remember that unemployment is a matter for both the UK Government and the Welsh Government, and under the last Labour Government youth unemployment in Wales rose by 73% over the Parliament.

[Robert Halfon]

Is my right hon. Friend aware of figures from the Office for National Statistics and the AA showing that more than £16 million could be injected into the Welsh economy this year alone because Labour’s 3p August rise in fuel duty has now been scrapped?

[Mrs Gillan]

Yes; my hon. Friend knows that the Government have shown that they have listened and are willing to help motorists further with their cost of living by acting at a time when the pump prices are still at historic highs and deferring the increase to January. I pay tribute to him, as he has of course played a great part in the campaign and has, in part, brought about this change by the Government, which will be welcomed throughout Wales, by businesses and families alike.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robert Halfon and Cheryl Gillan

Wednesday 18th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

7. How many apprentices are employed in her Department.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mrs Cheryl Gillan)]

I am delighted to say that despite having a small Department of about 60 staff, two apprentices were recruited to the Wales Office last year. Both are doing very well and their teams are already impressed by their professional attitude and level of competence, as am I.

[Robert Halfon]

Will my right hon. Friend support the parliamentary apprentice school that I founded with the charity, New Deal of the Mind? Will she also consider encouraging suppliers to the Wales Office to hire apprentices? The Department for Work and Pensions is already doing that with great success and helping to reduce youth unemployment.

[Mrs Gillan]

I know of the great work that my hon. Friend has been doing on apprenticeships. Although we are a small Department, which relies on the Ministry of Justice for many of our services, I will do what I can to ensure that our suppliers are encouraged to adopt similar practices. My hon. Friend might be pleased to know that the Welsh Government recruited 24 new apprentices in 2010 and 66 in 2011. I will write to them to ask whether they can ensure that their suppliers do what he suggests.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robert Halfon and Cheryl Gillan

Wednesday 11th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

8. What estimate she has made of the number of jobs to be created in Wales as a result of electrification of the Great Western main line to Cardiff.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mrs Cheryl Gillan)]

The electrification of the Great Western main line will create thousands of job opportunities in the UK manufacturing and service supply chains, and Welsh companies will be well placed to take advantage of those opportunities.

[Robert Halfon]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the project will be good for jobs, not just in Wales but throughout the United Kingdom? Will she make contracts available to the many first-class English construction and engineering firms, such as those in Harlow, many of which are small businesses?

[Mrs Gillan]

I was very pleased when we were able to announce the electrification, which will indeed help to provide jobs not only in Wales but in other parts of the United Kingdom. I hope that there will be many opportunities for businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency, as well as throughout Wales, to be involved in the process. Certainly the Wales Office will do all that it can to facilitate that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robert Halfon and Cheryl Gillan

Wednesday 2nd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

7. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the effects of her Department's policies on apprentices on the number of apprentices in Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mrs Cheryl Gillan)]

I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including apprentices. The Government believe that apprenticeships are a key component of the development of work force skills and one of the best forms of work-based learning.

[Robert Halfon]

Will the Secretary of State give Welsh backing to my campaign—supported by the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes), who is responsible for apprenticeships—for the establishment of a royal society of apprentices and an apprenticeship card to provide training, support and mentoring which would benefit apprentices in the whole United Kingdom, including Wales?

[Mrs Gillan]

This is the first time I have heard about such a scheme from my hon. Friend. Next week is apprenticeship week: between 7 and 11 February, efforts will be made to encourage more businesses to provide opportunities for apprentices in Wales. I should be delighted to meet my hon. Friend, and to give whatever support I can to that new organisation in order to confer greater status on what I consider to be a fantastic opportunity for many young people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robert Halfon and Cheryl Gillan

Wednesday 8th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

8. What discussions she has had with the First Minister and ministerial colleagues on the proposed referendum on the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mrs Cheryl Gillan)]

I have had regular discussions with the First Minister and ministerial colleagues on the proposed referendum on the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales. Indeed, I discussed it with the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister on Monday.

[Robert Halfon]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her reply. Does she agree that, as devolution develops, we will need a fair constitutional settlement across the United Kingdom, and is it not the Government’s intention, therefore, to address English votes for English laws, and indeed English and Welsh votes for English and Welsh laws?