Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to tackle the backlog in autism and ADHD assessments.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with the relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. This guidance will help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and adults referred to an autism assessment service.

The Department are supporting a cross-sector taskforce that NHS England has launched into challenges in ADHD service provision. The taskforce is expected to report on its findings and recommendations later this year.