Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the diagnosis process for autistic spectrum disorder for people in custody.

Reception screening tools are used by prisons in England to flag up potential learning disabilities and difficulties, cognitive impairment and other neuro-disabilities with onward referral for specialist screening/assessments and potential diagnostic assessment. Any subsequent healthcare interventions would then be tailored to meet the patient’s needs to ensure they fully understand, and can participate in, any treatment/interventions they may require.

Revised primary care service specification and accompanying best practice guidance, scheduled to be published by NHS England and NHS Improvement in April 2020, are expected to set out the specific elements of support expected for people with learning disabilities, autism or both when accessing healthcare services in prison.