Autism policy and services: UK legislation and strategies

What is autism? 

The National Autistic Society (NAS) describes autism as a lifelong neurodivergence and disability that affects how people experience and interact with the world. It is a spectrum condition that affects people in different ways. According to the NAS, autistic people may have:

• different communication styles, skills and preferences to non-autistic people
• repetitive and restrictive behaviours and interests (many autistic people see these behaviours as positive and helpful)
• over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to the five main senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch) and to the senses of balance, movement, spatial awareness and awareness of internal states

Some autistic people also have a learning disability. Autistic people are more likely to experience mental health problems than non-autistic people.

What terminology does this briefing use?

This briefing uses terminology recommended by the NAS. It uses the term ‘autistic people’ unless quoting text from another publication.

Autism is sometimes referred to as ‘autism spectrum disorder’, ‘autistic spectrum disorder’ or ‘autism spectrum condition’. These terms are often used in relation to medical diagnoses and data reporting. Where these terms are used in the briefing, it is to reflect the data or text source they are referring to.

The term ‘neurodiversity’ refers to the normal range of variation in the way people’s brains work, including how they perceive and respond to the world. A person whose brain works differently from a ‘typical’ person may refer to themselves as neurodivergent; some, but not all, autistic people identify as neurodivergent.

Adult autism strategy in England

The Autism Act 2009 requires the government to introduce and keep under review an adult autism strategy.

In 2021, the government published a new autism strategy for 2021 to 2026 including children and young people, alongside adults, for the first time. It focuses on autism awareness, education, employment, health, reducing inpatient care, community support and the criminal justice system.

The autism strategy was previously refreshed in 2014, and the first strategy, Fulfilling and rewarding lives: the strategy for adults with autism in England, was published in 2010.

An implementation plan for 2021 to 2022 set out how the strategy would be funded in the first year. The plan committed to funding of over £74 million.

Guidance for public bodies

The statutory guidance for local authorities and NHS organisations on implementing the autism strategy was published in 2015. In May 2024, the then government said it was updating the statutory guidance. The guidance was not updated before the general election of 2024 and the new government has not indicated when or if it will be updated.

Autism strategies in the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Each of the devolved executives is responsible for developing its own autism strategy. Sections 4, 5 and 6 of this briefing provide an overview of autism strategies implemented in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The Welsh Government published a Autism delivery plan 2021 to 2022 in 2021 alongside a statutory Code of Practice on the delivery of autism services.

In Scotland the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities  (COSLA) published a 10-year Scottish strategy for autism. This was reviewed in 2021, see Evaluation of the Scottish strategy for autism.

Both the Scottish and Welsh Governments’ have moved towards more general neurodiversity policies rather than autism only strategies. The Welsh Government announced the national improvement programme for neurodevelopmental conditions to 2025, in July 2022. The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill.

In Northern Ireland the Department of Health is required to publish an autism strategy. Autism Strategy 2023-2028 was in December 2023.

In 2022, the Autism (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 was passed, strengthening the autism strategy and improving data collection.

Further information

This briefing is part of a collection of Autism policy and services briefings. Please go to the Autism policy and services collection page for detailed briefings on health and social care, education, employment, social security and criminal justice.