PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Psychiatric Hospitals: Autism and Learning Disability (30 January 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help tackle variations between Integrated Care Boards in levels of adults in mental health hospitals with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism.

Asked by:
Ms Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour)

Each integrated care board (ICB) produces a five-year joint forward plan with partner trusts and foundation trusts. This will encompass the needs of the entire local population, including people with a learning disability and autistic people.

NHS England will continue to work with regional teams and local systems to identify and share areas of good practice, where services have been successful in reducing avoidable admissions to hospital, and helping people to leave hospital when they are clinically ready for discharge.

We expect ICBs, as set out in NHS England statutory guidance published 9 May 2023, to assign an executive lead role for learning disability and autism to a suitable board member. The named lead will support the board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of people with a learning disability and autistic people and to have effective oversight of, and support improvements in, the quality of care for people in a mental health, learning disability and autism inpatient setting.

Answered by:
Maria Caulfield (Conservative)
5 February 2024