Long title | An Act to make provision about meeting the needs of adults with autistic spectrum conditions; and for connected purposes. |
---|---|
Citation | 2009 c 15 |
Introduced by | Cheryl Gillan and Baroness Pitkeathley [2] |
Territorial extent | England and Wales [3] |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 12 November 2009 [2] |
Commencement | 12 January 2010 [4] |
Status: Current legislation | |
History of passage through Parliament | |
Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Revised text of statute as amended |
The Autism Act 2009 (c 15) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision about the needs of adults who have autistic spectrum disorders including autism and Asperger syndrome.
The Act began as part of the National Autistic Society's I Exist campaign which led to the creation of a Private member's bill. [5] This was drafted by a number of autism related organisations: [6]
It was introduced to the House of Commons by Conservative MP Cheryl Gillan on 21 January 2009. [7] It was then introduced to the House of Lords on 2 June 2009. [8]
The Secretary of State has a duty to prepare and publish an autism strategy which sets out the strategy for meeting the needs of adults in England across the autistic spectrum by improving the provision of relevant services to such adults by local authorities, National Health Service (NHS) bodies and foundation trusts. [9] This strategy has to be published no later than 1 April 2010. [10]
The Secretary of State must keep the strategy under review. [11] They must also consult and seek the participation of persons they deem appropriate when preparing the strategy and revising it in such a way which would result in a substantial change to the strategy in the Secretary of State's opinion. [12]
In order for the strategy to be successful, the Secretary of State must issue guidance to NHS bodies and local authorities by no later than 31 December 2010. [13] The Secretary of State must also keep the guidance under review. [14] The guidance must include guidance about: [15]
The Secretary of State must also consult local authorities and NHS bodies when issuing guidance or when revising it in such a way which would result in a substantial change to the guidance. [16]
Local authorities and NHS bodies have a duty under this Act to treat guidance as if it were general guidance issued under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970. [17]
Parliament will pay for any expenditure incurred under or because of this Act by the Secretary of State and any increase due to the introduction of the Act. [18]
Section 6(2) provides that the Act came into force at the end of the period of two months that began on the date on which it was passed. The word "months" means calendar months. [19] The day (that is to say, 12 November 2009) on which the Act was passed (that is to say, received royal assent) is included in the period of two months. [20] This means that the Act came into force on 12 January 2010.
Sasha Daly, Policy & Parliamentary Manager at TreeHouse, said: "At TreeHouse we believe that there is still much work to be done to improve services for the one in 100 children and young people with autism. Their parents all too often have to fight to get the right provision for their children. We will be working with the Department for Children, Schools and Families to ensure that they keep to their word to implement these improvements." [21]
Richard Mills, Director of Research at Research Autism, said: "This is a wonderful end to a determined campaign led by the NAS. We are hopeful that it will lead to an improvement in services and support for adults with autism in England. As the evidence base for effective services for adults is poor we hope that the Autism Strategy, that will underpin the Act, will take full account of the potential contribution of research to the development of effective services. Research Autism is proud to have been associated with this campaign." [22]
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnosis used between the 1990s and the 2010s to describe a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Asperger syndrome has been merged with other conditions into autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is no longer a diagnosis in the WHO's ICD-11 or the APA's DSM-5-TR. It was considered milder than other diagnoses which were merged into ASD due to relatively unimpaired spoken language and intelligence.
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