The Autism Act 2009 (c 15) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. The Act makes provision about the needs of adults who have

autistic spectrum disorders The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

including

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

and

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in Interpersonal relationship, social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and re ...

Background

The Act began as part of the National Autistic Society's ''I Exist'' campaign which led to the creation of a

Private Members Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

. This was drafted by a number of autism related organisations: *

National Autistic Society The National Autistic Society is the leading charity for autistic people and their families in the UK. Since 1962, the National Autistic Society has been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, serv ...

(NAS) * AIM *

Autism Anglia Autism Anglia is an organisation and registered charity that provides services to those affected by autism in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridge. It began life in 1973 when Anthony Boobier discovered there were no specialist autism services fo ...

* Autism Education Trust * Autism Initiatives UK * Autism Research Centre (ARC) *

Autism Speaks Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, an ...

* Autism West Midlands *

The Children's Society The Children's Society, formally the Church of England Children's Society, is a United Kingdom national children's charity (registered No. 221124) allied to the Church of England. The charity's two governing objectives are to: # directly improv ...

* Hampshire Autistic Society * Research Autism * Staffordshire Adults Autistic Society * Sussex Autistic Community Trust *

TreeHouse A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a han ...

* The Wessex Autistic Society * Wirral Autistic Society It was introduced to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Cheryl Gillan Dame Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (; 21 April 1952 – 4 April 2021) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chesham and Amersham from 1992 until her death in 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she served a ...

on 21 January 2009. It was then introduced to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

on 2 June 2009.

Duties

Autism Strategy

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 The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS) bodies and foundation trusts. This strategy has to be published no later than 1 April 2010. The Secretary of State must keep the strategy under review. 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.

Guidance

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. The Secretary of State must also keep the guidance under review. The guidance must include guidance about: #the provision of relevant services for the purpose of diagnosing autistic spectrum conditions in adults; #the identification of adults with such conditions; #the assessment of the needs of adults with such conditions for relevant services; #planning in relation to the provision of relevant services to persons with autistic spectrum conditions as they move from being children to adults; #other planning in relation to the provision of relevant services to adults with autistic spectrum conditions; #the training of staff who provide relevant services to adults with such conditions; #local arrangements for leadership in relation to the provision of relevant services to adults with such conditions. 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.

Local Authorities and NHS Bodies

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 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

Expenses

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.

Provisions

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 month A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

s. 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. This means that the Act came into force on 12 January 2010.

Reception

Sasha Daly, Policy & Parliamentary Manager at

, 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." 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."

References

External links

The Autism Act 2009
as amended from the National Archives.
The Autism Act 2009
as originally enacted from the National Archives.
Explanatory notes
to the Autism Act 2009. {{Autism resources Autism in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2009 Disability law in the United Kingdom