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Special Educational Needs and Disability (Support) Bill

A week or so ago, when the Government were opening the 3,000th Sure Start centre, I visited one of the three centres in my constituency. I, too, observed the fantastic work that is being done. Does my hon. Friend agree that there is almost a duty for staff, who, as she says, are highly qualified and dedicated, to flag up the earliest signs of autism when they appear? I know that there is speculation about how early those signs can be demonstrated, but should not a mechanism operate from the earliest years of a child's development to ensure that staff are aware that that child may develop autistic tendencies?