Mental Health and Neurodiversity: Diagnosis
(asked on 1st December 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the proposed scope and timetable for his Department’s review into the prevalence of the potential over-diagnosis of mental health conditions and neurodivergence.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced on 4 December 2025, via a Written Ministerial Statement, the launch of an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.
The Government is deeply concerned that many adults, young people, and children with mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism have been let down by services and are not receiving timely or appropriate support and treatment. Therefore, we are launching this review to understand the rise in the prevalence and demand for services, so people receive the right support at the right time and in the right place.
The review will look to understand, with regard to mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, the similarities and differences regarding prevalence, early intervention and treatment, the current challenges facing clinical services, and the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation, and treatment improve outcomes for individuals.
Professor Peter Fonagy will chair the review with the support of two vice chairs, Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Baird. The review will appoint an advisory working group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence. The Terms of Reference have been published on GOV.UK website and are available at the following link: