Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for an autism diagnosis in Kent in (a) 2025 and (b) 2020; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for receiving an autism diagnosis.

The information is not held centrally in the format requested, but may be held by individual providers or integrated care boards (ICBs). Some relevant information is available on autism assessment waiting times for the NHS Kent and Medway ICB.

In the NHS Kent and Medway ICB, the Autism Waiting Time Statistics published by NHS England show that there were a total of 8,695 patients with an open suspected autism referral in September 2024, the latest available data, and a total of 3,015 patients with an open suspected autism referral in September 2020. The median waiting time of all patients in this ICB with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 483 days in September 2024, and 139 days in September 2020.

Data on children and young people in this dataset is expected to be an underestimate and caution should be used when interpreting these statistics since they are experimental rather than official statistics.

It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.