Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to make an autism assessment on employment rates.

There are no plans for DWP to make this specific assessment. Whilst we recognise the importance of early identification of autism, a diagnosis is not required to be eligible for reasonable adjustments and the provision of workplace support. These are made, in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, based on functional need.

We are, as you know, encouraging employers to adopt more neuro-inclusive working practices, which benefit neurodiverse employees irrespective of whether they have a diagnosis.

The SoS and I were delighted to see the launch of your excellent Review into Autism Employment on the 28^{th of} February, which has created a focus for action to improve the recruitment and retention of autistic people. It has identified workplace barriers, and the working practices and initiatives that can reduce them, to create a more inclusive working environment for autistic employees and autistic jobseekers.

We now look towards supporting how the 19 recommendations in the report can be implemented to encourage a more neuro-inclusive culture in the workplace.

This is supported by Disability Confident, our scheme to increase employers’ understanding of how to recruit, retain and support disabled employees and the Support with Employee Health and Disability online service which guides employers through health and disability scenarios at work, including making reasonable adjustments.