Autism Bill

I see both Ministers nodding, which I will take as confirmation of what will be going through. In debates, and in meetings with Ministers and officials, I was pleased to achieve a broad consensus on the need for legislation and further action, so that people with autism receive the quality of support that they deserve. The clauses relating to adults now look quite different from those in the original drafting, but they are completely in keeping with the spirit of the original Bill and in many instances go well beyond what was covered in the first draft. The statutory guidance covers all the crucial parts, including—I am pleased to say this, because there was a strong feeling among the charities supporting the Bill that these things needed to be included—access to diagnosis, needs assessments, transition planning, strategic planning of support services with adults with autism, and local partnership and co-operation. The Bill now places a duty on the Secretary of State to introduce a strategy for improving outcomes for adults with autism, accompanied by statutory guidance for local authorities and NHS bodies. If the Bill becomes law, it will be a catalyst for huge progress in meeting the needs of the country's adults with autism. The NAS and other partner organisations, such as TreeHouse, that have been involved with the Bill have been pleased with this positive approach, and have warmly welcomed the new, amended Bill that I am presenting today on Third Reading. I have a few remaining concerns, however, on which I should like to seek reassurance from the Minister, together with any further details that she might be able to give me, especially on implementation, which will be the next stage if the Bill becomes an Act. The first issue relates to data collection. The Minister has recognised the importance of data collection to enable organisations to identify and meet the needs of people with autism. Given that the National Audit Office's recent report on autism found that identifying and supporting people with Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism would save the public purse many millions, I would be grateful if she could reassure me that the proactive measures needed to identify those adults will be put in place, and that those measures will not have to rely purely on making better use of existing data. In addition, I would like reassurance that a particular focus will be placed on identifying adults with Asperger's syndrome who are not already known to the services. Will she also confirm that the definition of people on the autistic spectrum will specifically include those with high-functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome? The second issue relates to strategic planning and joint strategic needs assessments, or JSNAs—hardly a snappy title that rolls off the tongue. These are the key strategic planning tools for the local authorities, but at the moment, more than two thirds of local authorities have no commissioning strategy at all for adults with autism, and only 21 per cent. of all JSNAs include any mention of the needs of people with autism. Can the Minister reassure me that the statutory guidance will specify that JSNAs have to take into account the needs of people with autism? Another concern relates to identifying which professionals are relevant to autism. The Bill covers all health and social care staff, and that is welcome. However, other staff who play a large part in supporting adults with autism are not covered—notably those involved with employment matters, including Jobcentre Plus staff. Will the Minister confirm that professionals who have a particular responsibility for supporting adults with disabilities will receive an appropriate level of training, be it in the field of social care, employment support or another relevant field? I think I see the Minister nodding. That would go a long way towards reassuring people that, at last, the real needs of people with autism were beginning to be considered across all levels.