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<p>Information on the total spend on autism assessments is not held centrally. NHS
England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs), which
are responsible for commissioning services using these core allocations to meet the
needs of their local populations, including autism assessment services. The following
table shows the total baseline expenditure in ICBs for learning disability and autism
services over the last five years, disaggregated for autism services where possible:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>
</p></td><td><p>Learning disability</p></td><td><p>Autism services</p></td><td><p>Unseparated
learning disability and autism services</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£1,809,200,000</p></td><td><p>£1,809,200,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£2,285,600,000</p></td><td><p>£2,285,600,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>£85,800,000</p></td><td><p>£3,700,000</p></td><td><p>£2,268,300,000</p></td><td><p>£2,357,900,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>£625,800,000</p></td><td><p>£27,100,000</p></td><td><p>£1,928,800,000</p></td><td><p>£2,581,700,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023/24</p></td><td><p>£926,000,000</p></td><td><p>£47,100,000</p></td><td><p>£1,928,800,000</p></td><td><p>£2,904,600,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>In addition, specific funding has been allocated to ICBs in 2023/4 and 2024/25
from the Service Development Funding, to improve autism assessment waiting lists and
pathways. The following table shows information on the additional national funding
allocated to ICBs by NHS England, over each of the last five years, to improve autism
assessment waiting lists and pathways:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Service
Development Funding via the NHS Long Term Plan Transformation Funding</p></td><td><p>Spending
Review 2021 via the COVID-19 Recovery Fund</p></td><td><p>Total funding for autism
assessment pathways</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>£2,500,000</p></td><td><p>£14,500,000</p></td><td><p>£17,000,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>£5,000,000</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£5,000,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023/24</p></td><td><p>£4,200,000</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£4,200,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2024/25</p></td><td><p>£4,300,000</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>£4,300,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes:</p><ol><li>the
in-year pay uplift for 2023/24 is not reflected in the table;</li><li>the service
development funding allocations shown in the table are in addition to the ICBs core
funding allocations.</li></ol><p>The NHS Operational and Planning Guidance 2024/25
asks local systems to improve autism assessment pathways, through implementation of
the NHS England autism assessment national framework. Allocations from 2025/26 onwards
are subject to future decisions on spending. Further information on the operational
and planning guidance and national framework is available respectively at the following
links:</p><p><a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-25-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance-v1.1.pdf"
target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-25-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance-v1.1.pdf</a></p><p><a
href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/"
target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/</a></p><p>A
specific assessment of the adequacy of funding in meeting the National Institute for
Health and Care Excellence’s waiting time standard for autism assessments has not
been made. However, autism waiting times statistics are published on a quarterly basis.
The total number of people with an open referral, where the diagnosis not yet completed,
for suspected autism has increased by 47%, from 117,032 in December 2022 to 172,022
in December 2023. In December 2023, it was estimated that only 5.9% of patients whose
referrals have been open in the system for at least 13 weeks received their first
contact appointment within 13 weeks.</p>
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