Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of post-diagnosis support services for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

While we have not made any specific assessments, we recognise the need to improve access to support following an autism diagnosis being made. In 2021/22 as part of the £31 million of funding provided for autism and learning disability services under the COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided £7 million of funding to local areas to test and implement timely, quality autism diagnosis and post-diagnosis pathways for children and young people, including support for parents and carers. In addition, the Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review which seeks to ensure that children and young people with SEND receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.