Autism Bill

I would like to start on the theme that the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Angela Browning) just touched on—the causes and prevalence of this condition—because it is an interesting area. Her instinct is probably correct. There is no increase in the prevalence of the condition, but there is undoubtedly an increase in its recognition and diagnosis. That is true of a lot of illnesses. There is a view that certain things happen more frequently today, but it is actually a question of science moving on, and we now have the capacity to diagnose certain illnesses. I congratulate the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) on introducing the Bill, and I would like to touch on a couple of things that she and I have done in the past—before she slips out for a well-deserved cup of tea. She and I served on the Select Committee on Science and Technology during our first parliamentary Session, and one of the things we looked at was the development of human genetics. In our third report of the 1994-95 Session, we looked at a huge number of conditions that had by then been identified as having a possible genetic component. The order of incidence of most of these was one in 500, or one in 8,000—for example, one in 500 was diabetes type 1. It is now recognised that autism may have a genetic component to it, but it is a condition with an incidence rate of approximately one in 100. Just a few years ago, a Select Committee, with all the expertise that it has at its disposal, did not bother to look at the matter because it had not come to our attention. It has crept up on this House rapidly in recent years, and it is only people such as the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton, with her personal experience, who have really understood what a terrible condition it is, and how prevalent it is. Whatever our disagreements about tactics today, we need to ensure that we use this debate to help to publicise and improve public understanding of this terrible condition. I congratulate the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham on helping to make that happen.