PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Autism: Mental Health Services (12 January 2022)

The NHS Long Term Plan commits to achieving a 50% reduction in the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability in specialist inpatient settings, compared to March 2015, by 2023/24. We are investing £40 million to improve the capacity and capability of community services, such as crisis services and support at-risk children with complex needs. We are also investing £31 million in 2021/22 to increase community support and prevent admissions. This includes funding to improve the quality of inpatient care for autistic people, including £4 million to make inpatient settings more autism-friendly. In addition, we are providing £21 million in 2021/22 to local government to facilitate discharge of autistic people and people with a learning disability from inpatient care.