A new Prime Minister means a renewal of our effort to bring about a real and long-term change for autistic people.

Andy Burnham has a strong history of autistic advocacy. In his previous role as Secretary of State for Health, he helped to deliver the Autism Act 2009, a landmark law requiring the Government to produce a national autism strategy and provide statutory guidance for local authorities and the NHS to improve services for autistic people.

While the Act was being proposed, Burnham met with the National Autistic Society at the request of a group of his Leigh constituents – describing this visit as seminal in developing his understanding of autism. The Greater Manchester Autism Consortium now receives funding as a result of Burnham’s support, and he went on to write the foreword for the first, and then most recent, Greater Manchester Autism Strategy.

With this in mind, we polled our campaigners to ask what they think Burnham should prioritise within his Government to best support autistic people. Of the 1,346 people who responded, their key priorities were education, employment and adult social care.

The surrounding political narrative

These key asks come at a decisive moment for autistic people, as we anticipate the release of several consequential Government reviews:

• Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism (Prevalence Review): a Government-commissioned report into the prevalence and support available for those with mental health conditions, autism and ADHD.
• Independent Report into Young People and Work (Milburn Review): a Government-commissioned review into the rising number of young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) – led by former Health Secretary, Alan Milburn.
• Timms Review into Personal Independence Payment (PIP): a Government-commissioned report into Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – co-chaired by the Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms, Sharron Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE.
• Independent Commission on Adult Social Care (the Casey Commission): A Government-commissioned report tasked with making recommendations to create a national adult social care system.

Setting the record straight: our fight against misinformation

These reports and their recommendations could prove vital to reform complex and often demoralising support systems, but also to set the record straight amid a significant rise in misinformation around autism.

We know that more autistic people are now rightfully being diagnosed because of increased awareness about autism, rather than an increase in actual prevalence. For many, a diagnosis is required to access the support they need. Despite this, some individuals and groups continue to falsely suggest there is an overdiagnosis of autism.

We’ve made it clear in our charity’s letters to the relevant new ministers that they must stand up against misinformation and focus their attention on addressing the real, well-documented issues autistic people continue to face.

One of the other main ways we engage with parliamentarians is through the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA). The National Autistic Society acts as the Secretariat, which means coordinating meetings with MPs, Peers and the Chair, Alison Hume MP, who has an autistic son. Each meeting highlights a specific issue impacting autistic people, with the aim of fostering discussion and encouraging parliamentary action.

In February, we hosted the Schools Minister Georgia Gould MP, who answered questions from attendees on the recently announced SEND reforms. With eight out of ten autistic adults saying they don’t trust the Government reforms, it was a crucial opportunity to discuss with the minister how this trust might be earned. During the lengthy consultation process, we then held a second meeting with Georgia Gould MP, in collaboration with the APPGs on ADHD and Learning Disability.

We know many autistic people and their families still have questions about how the reforms will affect them. Our team has been working hard to make these perspectives clear to the Government, including submitting a mammoth 50-page response to the Department for Education’s consultation on the reforms.
 
In April, we hosted Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms MP for a roundtable discussion with neuroinclusive employers and autistic employees. With only 30% of autistic adults in any form of employment, it has been crucial to work alongside the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to discuss how we can take collective steps toward closing the autism employment gap.

Outside of my day job at the National Autistic Society, I attended one of the Milburn Review’s contributory sessions. I joined Alan Millburn and other young disabled people to share our thoughts. In doing so, I was able to share the long (and for many, very recognisable) journey my family have been on.

Both my brother Tom and I are autistic, but my being high-masking has meant that our experiences with finding and starting work couldn’t have been more different. After a lifetime of my brother being let down by local support services, my mum found the Lighthouse Futures Trust, who helped to find him a supported internship.

While Tom has now been working full time for four years, things still aren’t perfect. I know stories like these rarely are, and that’s exactly why the Government needs to hear them. Data from the National Autistic Society found that while 77% of autistic people wish to work, they continue to face the largest employment gap of any disability.

Even those in work, like my brother Tom, continue to face an array of barriers – whether higher levels of discrimination or poor implementation of reasonable adjustments in recruitment and workplace settings. Staying in work is no easy task for many autistic people. It’s always been clear that these difficulties stem from social disadvantages and a lack of real support.

With so much going on, we need to be clear with those in power: now is the time to act for autistic people. Failing to do so only compounds existing barriers, and in the case of misinformation, may even create new ones.