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Written question asked by Robert Buckland (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 September 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 October 2023. It was answered by Maria Caulfield (Conservative) on Thursday, 19 October 2023 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.


Autism: Avon and Wiltshire

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce the waiting list for autism assessments in Avon and Wiltshire.

Answer

We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism when commissioning services. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision

Each ICB in England is expected to have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism, supporting the board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of people with a learning disability and autistic people, including in relation to appropriate autism assessment pathways. NHS England has published guidance on these roles.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service improve autism assessment pathways and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service.

In addition, NHS England publish quarterly data on how many people are waiting for an autism assessment and for how long. These are experimental statistics; however, the data does provide useful information nationally and locally to support local areas to improve their performance and to reduce assessment waiting times.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
200300
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Autism Avon Diagnosis Wiltshire
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk