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Autism Bill

The hon. Lady says that my record is second to none, but my record is second to hers, and I acknowledge her contribution to the debate. She is absolutely right: if we are to ensure that cases do not go to court, or go to court and are resolved properly, there will have to be statutory force behind what we want to achieve. My only question is whether the Bill is the right sort of statutory force. I note that the clauses are all about the duty to "promote" and "recognise". Those are mealy-mouthed expressions, in legislative terms. They give local authorities a wealth of opportunities to say, "We are promoting this. You'll have to prove that we're not promoting it before you can achieve your objective." If the Bill goes into Committee, I will want the Committee to explore whether those are the right levels of assurance for local authorities and public bodies.