Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) implementation of the Care Act 2014 for autistic adults and (b) extent to which statutory provisions for such adults under that Act are being met.

We have not made any specific assessments. Under the Care Act 2014, it is the responsibility of local authorities to assess individuals’ care and support needs, including those of autistic adults, and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. A new duty on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess local authorities’ delivery of their Care Act 2014 duties went live on 1 April 2023 and the formal assessment period has started. The CQC will examine how well local authorities deliver their Care Act duties, including those that apply to autistic people. This will increase transparency and accountability and, most importantly, drive improved outcomes for people who draw on care and support.

Our national autism strategy, published in July 2021, acknowledges the importance of autistic people being able to access community support, including social care, and that this should be available at the right time and tailored to their needs. The strategy was informed by a national call for evidence. A summary of the call for evidence findings was published alongside the strategy and included reported barriers to autistic people accessing social care.

We are currently updating the Autism Act Statutory Guidance to support the National Health Service and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people. This will include setting out what local authorities must and should be doing to meet their duties under the Care Act for autistic adults. We expect to publish the updated statutory guidance this year, following public consultation.