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 extent of commissioning gaps in specialist autism mental health services across Integrated Care Systems.

The Independent Review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues, including the current provision of services in relation to autism and mental health.

The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, available at the link below, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy, to be published later this year. The Government also remains fully committed to developing and publishing a revised cross-Government autism strategy in line with the Autism Act 2009. We will engage on the development of the revised autism strategy, including on whether the scope of the autism strategy should be extended to cover ADHD.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises

The Government recently announced a major expansion of mental health support within the community, with £187 million allocated for 100 community mental health centres, and £156 million for 59 mental health emergency departments.

In addition, people of all ages experiencing a mental health crisis can access support through NHS 111 by selecting the mental health option. This provides access to mental health support and advice, including for children and young people, and can help people access appropriate local services when they need urgent support.