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Autism Bill

I totally agree with that. Clause 8, which refers to expenses, says:""There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament…any expenditure incurred under or by virtue of this Act,"" and so on. If the Bill were enforced properly, there could be a net saving to society, by removing the burdens that are placed not only on the criminal justice system but on a range of Departments. My hon. Friend the Minister will have found, when he has tried to negotiate for clauses to go into a Bill, that there is always pressure from those in the Treasury who say, "We can't have that because of the cost." Here, there is prima facie evidence from the work of Professor Knapp to demonstrate that the enormous cost to society could be reduced if we managed our services better. So I am making a plea to the Minister not to be suckered into a discussion with the those in the Treasury about how much these measures will cost, and instead to convince them that the work of Professor Knapp and others adequately demonstrates why this would be a wise thing to do, financially.