Autism Act 2009 Committee to hold first oral evidence session

The committee has been appointed to examine whether the Autism Act and the autism strategy are working and to make recommendations about what the Government should do next. It will launch its call for written evidence before the Easter parliamentary recess.  

Autism Act 2009 states that the Government must publish an autism strategy for England and statutory guidance about supporting autistic people. The current autism strategy covers the period from 2021 to 2026, and sets out the Government’s plans to take action to improve autistic people’s lives across six priority areas: 

• improving understanding and acceptance of autism within society 
  
  
• improving autistic people’s access to education, and supporting transitions into adulthood 
  
  
• supporting more autistic people into employment 
  
  
• tackling health and care inequalities for autistic people 
  
  
• building the right support in the community and supporting people in inpatient care 
  
  
• improving support within the criminal and youth justice systems. 

The statutory guidance says what the NHS and local authorities should do to make sure the autism strategy works.

Monday’s session will consist of two panels of experts from academia and autism and disability charities.  

Giving evidence at 14:45 will be: 

• Adam Micklethwaite – Director, Autism Alliance  
• Fazilet Hadi – Head of Policy, Disability Rights UK  
• Tim Nicholls – Assistant Director of Policy, Research and Strategy, National Autistic Society 

Questions the committee is likely to ask include: 

• What was the purpose of the Autism Act 2009? 
  
  
• Since the Act was passed, what have been the key changes for autistic people (and for disabled people generally), and why? 
  
  
• In what ways are there still barriers to autistic people getting the support they need, and why? 
  
  
• Since the Act was passed, how effectively has the Government set policy to improve support for autistic people, including through the current autism strategy? 
  
  
• What should the Government prioritise in a new autism strategy, following the end of the strategy for 2021 to 2026? 
  
  
• How effectively has the Government implemented the autism strategy for 2021 to 2026? 

Giving evidence at 15:45 will be: 

• Professor Martin Knapp – Professor of Health and Social Care Policy, London School of Economics  
• Dr James Cusack – CEO, Autistica  
• Jolanta Lasota – CEO, Ambitious About Autism and Chair, Autism Alliance 

Questions the committee is likely to ask include: 

• What evidence is there about the population of autistic people in England (diagnosed and undiagnosed) and their demographic characteristics?
  
  
• What does the evidence tell us about what autistic people and the people who support them need from the Government and their policy priorities? 
  
  
• How effective was the Government’s approach to setting policy objectives in the autism strategy for 2021 to 2026? How should the current Government approach this differently? 
  
  
• How effectively has the Government implemented the autism strategy for 2021 to 2026? How should the Government do this differently in future? 

The sessions can be followed live on parliamentlive.tv from 14:45 on Monday 10 March 2025