Autism Bill

I thank my hon. Friend for re-emphasising that important point about the gap between the group of services available and the unmet need. The two are not necessarily in line with each other. If commissioning is done well, what a rocky ride that can be for Government at all levels, but we will never get commissioning right in any area of local government or in the health service until we start from the needs of the population that we are trying to serve. Proper needs assessment is necessary to build a platform on which to develop services that dovetail and produce the results that we want to see. My hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) referred to the training of staff. Only 15 per cent. of people with autism are in full-time work, so the training of staff in Jobcentre Plus as personal advisers and disability employment advisers will be crucial. That training, as we have already said, needs to go much wider—80 per cent. of GPs said that they needed more training and guidance. Increased awareness of autism among accident and emergency staff and across the community will mean that people with autism are recognised and empowered, and have equal access and opportunities. It would be useful if the Minister confirmed that professionals who have particular responsibility—let us start there—for supporting adults with disability will get specific training to help them support adults with autism. The fourth aspect is community care assessments. It should go without saying that they should be person-based. It was a long time ago that I first heard the term "holistic care" mentioned—well over 25 years. I see the Minister nodding. We share a professional background, and I am sure that at times she, like me, could weep at the lack of progress. Care assessments must be person-centred, which means that they must be carried out by those with the training necessary to assess the needs of people with autism. I ask the hon. Lady to affirm her understanding of the need for appropriate training for people who undertake community care assessments. On the publication of the strategy and guidance, I was moderately amused to see in the National Autistic Society's briefing that the Department of Health had said that it was standard to stagger the publication of strategy and guidance. I always hate it when I read that anything is standard, or that "that's what we always do", because an opportunity to do things differently might be overlooked. Perhaps the Minister will explain the policy, as I may have missed something obvious. Will she do what she can to ensure that strategy and guidance are published together, and if that is not possible, will she tell us why not? In that context, it would be useful for many of the people who will read or who are watching the debate if the Minister gave us some idea of the dates of publication. We need to know that as soon as possible. We frequently hear from local authorities and various health agencies that they are still waiting for the statutory guidance. That is terribly frustrating. Often, local authorities want to get on and start fulfilling their commitments under new legislation, but the guidance is slow in appearing. My hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Honiton mentioned silos. That is my penultimate point, and the subject is a bee in my bonnet. We talk about partnership working, attend joint meetings, make joint appointments, and believe that in doing so, we have achieved joint working. We have ticked the box on working in partnership, but real joint working is about getting out of those silos. Only then can we make the difference. The silos have to go. Government at all levels are desperately resistant to moving out of their bunkers and sharing budgets, experience and the benefits of cost-sharing. As with commissioning, if we have our eye on the needs of the population for which we are trying to provide services, there should be no reason why we cannot break down the walls between Departments. Will the Minister spell out the measures that her Department will take to ensure that the strategy can be developed and implemented jointly with other Departments, particularly the Department for Work and Pensions?