Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of autism assessments in (a) England and (b) Bournemouth West constituency.

It is the responsibility of integrated care board (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 (NICE) guidelines. In doing so, ICBs should take account of waiting lists, and should consider how local funding can be deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation, and how they might overcome these.

NHS England is also working with research organisations to explore evidence-based models that support improved outcomes for those people waiting for an autism assessment.

The NHS Dorset ICB advises that it has conducted a review with local partners and people with lived experience to help develop plans to improve services. The ICB plans to introduce a local tool, which will be available to people working with children and young people, to identify their individual needs and provide support ahead of assessment. The ICB further advises that it is looking at creating additional assessment appointments over the next two years, while it develops a longer-term plan to create neurodiversity services which are fit for the future and provide all local people with the support they need.