Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost of contracting NHS neurodevelopmental assessments to private providers; and whether he has had discussions with the NHS on the potential merits of conducting such tests via the NHS.

NHS England does not collect cost information for neurodevelopmental assessments in its ledgers or system reporting.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to neurodevelopmental assessments.

The NHS Constitution already gives patients the legal right to choose the provider and team who will provide their elective care. These rights extend to any provider in England who holds a contract with an ICB, or NHS England, for the service(s) the patient. This includes independent sector providers. Mental health, learning disability and autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder services are already in scope of this legislation.