We’ve seen the Budget - now we need to see the reform
The Budget was clearly a hugely significant moment in politics and for the new Government.
For autistic people and their families, it changes nothing now.
Additional funding for SEND in education, for the NHS, and for local government is welcome. The lack of similar investment in social care is yet another missed opportunity.
But until there is action to change the way the system currently works, autistic people and their families will continue to face unacceptable levels of inequality, and continual barriers that cause huge damage to their lives.
The Budget, and the subsequent Spending Review, should hopefully open the way for Departments to engage with their stakeholders to develop plans for reform, particularly in education for children and young people with SEND, and in social care.
It is vital this engagement is open, transparent and fully involves autistic people from the start. It is equally vital the plans developed look deeply at the underlying drivers of poor outcomes, and are not just surface level exercises.
Employers will bear much of the cost of the changes set out in the Budget. These changes do not seem to recognise the huge pressures already faced by voluntary sector organisations, who work tirelessly in our communities to help people facing the greatest challenges, often within a system which is rigid and unsupportive.
Reform and renewal will only succeed if they are ground-up: led by the voices and experiences of people, communities, and local organisations - and with a willingness to challenge the status quo of a system that too often prioritises balancing the books over the reality of people’s lives.
With a country worn down by austerity, exhausted from Covid, and facing long term economic issues, this is exactly the point to change the way the Government acts.
Understanding difference will help us think differently about how services could work better, and more cost effectively. It is vital the Government recognises this, and engages meaningfully with all those in society who have needs which do not fit into the ‘narrow middle’, including autistic people and their families.
The Government has committed to fix the foundations. It now needs to show it has the willingness and capability to engage with system reform, and start to deliver real change.