Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adults with autism in England receive support under the current social care system; and how many such adults will receive support under the system proposed in the Care Act 2014 Part 1 regulations.

The Care Act 2014 will reform the care and support system for everyone, including adults with autism. The core principles of the Care Act 2014 and the regulations and statutory guidance which support its implementation are to maintain the wellbeing of people who have care and support needs and support them in living independent lives.

The draft regulations and guidance were co-produced with stakeholders, and this included engaging with the National Autistic Society. The Department is currently consulting on the regulations and statutory guidance that will support the implementation of the Care Act 2014. The public consultation started on 6 June and runs until 15 August 2014.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre does not collect any data on the number of adults with autism receiving support under the current, or proposed, social care systems and therefore are unable to provide a response. The national eligibility criteria being introduced under the Care Act 2014 will allow local authorities to maintain levels of access for service users when they move from the current framework to the new care and support system in April 2015.