Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to address the increase in the number of autistic people in mental health inpatient facilities since 2015.

The NHS Long Term Plan commits to achieving a 50% reduction in the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability in specialist inpatient settings, compared to March 2015, by 2023/24. We are investing £40 million to improve the capacity and capability of community services, such as crisis services and support at-risk children with complex needs. We are also investing £31 million in 2021/22 to increase community support and prevent admissions. This includes funding to improve the quality of inpatient care for autistic people, including £4 million to make inpatient settings more autism-friendly. In addition, we are providing £21 million in 2021/22 to local government to facilitate discharge of autistic people and people with a learning disability from inpatient care.