Budget 2024: submission from national autism organisations
The Autism Alliance UK, National Autistic Society, Autistica and Ambitious about Autism have made a submission to the 2024 Budget process led by the Treasury.
We have called for:
The Government to prioritise autism in policy, reflecting the scale and significance of autism within the UK population, the unacceptable inequalities autistic people face, and the importance of positioning autistic people’s experiences as the litmus test of public services.
Investment to stabilise and reform autism assessment. Autism assessment should be a positive and validating experience, helping ensure services and society recognise and meet autistic people’s needs, and should not be seen as compulsory for those who don’t need it. But almost 200,000 people are waiting for an assessment, with waiting times running into years, and diagnosis is frequently treated as a requirement for accessing the support autistic people are already entitled to in law. Sustained investment in the assessment workforce – for autism, and for other types of neurodivergence – would reduce waiting times in the short term, while laying the foundations for evolution of assessment in the medium term.
Investment in ‘what works’ research led by the voices of autistic people. Although some evidence meets higher academic standards, there needs to be more high quality ‘what works’ research to enable the right support for autistic people and their families to be funded, and to support the evolution of autism assessment. This should be led by the voices of autistic people, and weighted towards strategies and supports that can enhance autistic people’s lives now, in contrast to much autism research which has a medical focus. New research would also include a refreshed study of autism prevalence, reflecting the substantial increases in awareness since the last primary research was carried out in 2007.
Investment in mandatory autism training for all staff in education. Early support is vital in getting the best start in life, but it is here that the system too often fails autistic children and young people. A lack of understanding means that too often, their needs are not recognised and met, fundamentally damaging their ability to thrive and learn. Mandatory autism training would give every member of staff in the education system an understanding of autism, and what it means to meet autistic pupils’ needs. This would build on the existing commitment to roll out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in autism and learning disability for all staff across the NHS and social care.
We have also encouraged the Government to invest in pilots to:
Develop new models of employment support for autistic people, following on from the Buckland Review of Autism Employment.
Explore new ways of providing early support for autistic people and their families through local health, social care and community services, in line with the Care Act 2014 and the principle of ‘prevention’.
Work with community organisations to test new ways of increasing understanding of autism in services and society through action at a grassroots level.
Finally, the submission calls on the Government to complete vital work focusing specifically on autistic people and their families: publishing revised statutory guidance on autism under the Autism Act 2009; strengthening the National Strategy for Autistic Children, Young People and Adults with an implementation plan, clearer accountability and outcome targets co-produced with autistic people and their families; and ensuring planned reform of the Mental Health Act 1983 is accompanied by investment in vital community support to avoid unintended consequences.
The Autism Alliance will continue to call for the Government to focus on system-level reform, particularly in SEND education and adult social care, reflecting the underlying barriers that hold back real change: weak accountability, misaligned funding, and unsupportive culture. We will also continue to promote the policy ideas in our call to the new Government, Doing The Right Thing, which include mandatory autism training, a Commissioner for Autistic People, and other proposals that would strengthen accountability and accelerate culture change.