A new House of Lords report highlights the urgent need for an improved Government strategy for autistic people.

Yesterday, the House of Lords published a report examining the Autism Act called Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy.

First introduced in 2009, the Autism Act required the Government to develop a strategy to address the inequalities autistic people face. This new report explored how well the Autism Act has been working, what the current autism strategy has achieved and what the Government needs to do to launch an effective strategy in 2026.

The report made several key recommendations:

• The Government must urgently develop and deliver the new autism strategy, so it is ready to launch in July 2026, when the current one expires.
  
  
• The Government must identify priority outcomes, a plan to achieve them, and state who is responsible and accountable for delivering these outcomes.
  
  
• Autistic people and those who support them must be meaningfully involved in every stage of developing and delivering the new strategy.

Earlier this year, autistic people, their families, and autism charities answered a call for evidence for progress against the Autism Act, which underpins this report. Over 400 autistic people and family members came forward to share their experiences, many of which powerfully illustrated the urgent need for change. This is believed to be a record-breaking number of submissions for a House of Lords Select Committee.

• We welcome the House of Lords Special Inquiry Committee’s report on the Autism Act 2009 and support its recommendations to deliver real change for autistic people.
• The report highlights the systemic failures that autistic children, young people and adults face across all aspects of their lives, from long waits for an autism assessment to getting the right support at school and work and accessing healthcare and mental health support.
• The Government must now accept these recommendations and commit to a new autism strategy to tackle the barriers autistic people face and create a more inclusive society for all autistic people and their families.

Although the Autism Act was a step in the right direction, sixteen years later, it is clear that successive governments have failed to deliver the real change that autistic people deserve. We call on the Government to use this report to kick-start much-needed change to address the very real inequalities that autistic people face in so many areas of life.

Autistica CEO, Dr James Cusack, said: “The Government have a strategy but not a plan when it comes to autism. That is where we are: we have a set of themes and strategic priorities, but there is nothing of any substance underpinning them.”

Baroness Rock, Chair of the Autism Committee, said:

“Our report draws on their evidence to set out a path to addressing the needs and aspirations of autistic people through the new autism strategy. To make the new strategy a success, the Government must set realistic goals, make a plan to deliver them, monitor progress, and work together with autistic people and those who support them to build change.

“The Government must now use our findings to fulfil its commitment to bring forward the new autism strategy on time in July 2026. We will judge the Government’s response against that commitment. Autistic people deserve nothing less.”

You can read the full report on the UK Parliament Committee's website.