The Autism Act 2009: What the Latest Government Response Means for Care Providers Solutions

Introduction

The Autism Act 2009 remains the only condition-specific piece of legislation in England. While it has been in place for over a decade, recent scrutiny by the House of Lords has made one thing clear: delivery has not kept pace with intention.

In response, the Department of Health and Social Care has published its formal reply to the Lords Select Committee report Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy. This response sets out how the government plans to strengthen accountability, improve outcomes, and drive better practice across health and social care.

For care and support business owners and managers, this matters. Not because the Act is new, but because expectations around autism-informed care, leadership, and governance are increasing. This blog explains what the Autism Act is, what the government is proposing, and what this means in practice for your service, particularly in the context of CQC inspections.

What Is the Autism Act 2009?

The Autism Act 2009 places statutory duties on the government to produce and update an autism strategy and guidance for implementation. Its purpose is to improve the lives of autistic people by ensuring better access to diagnosis, support, and services across health, social care, education, employment, and the criminal justice system.

Although the Act does not place direct legal duties on individual care providers, it strongly influences policy, commissioning, inspection frameworks, and expectations of good practice. In reality, providers are expected to align with the principles of the Act through how care is delivered, led, and governed.

Why the Autism Act Has Been Reviewed

The Lords Select Committee reviewed the Act because, despite good intentions, outcomes for autistic people remain poor. Key issues identified included:

• Long delays for diagnosis and support
• Inconsistent local provision
• Poor transitions between services
• Significant health inequalities
• A lack of accountability for delivery

The Committee concluded that the problem is not a lack of policy, but a lack of consistent implementation and leadership.

The Government’s Response: What Is Being Proposed?

The government accepted many of the Committee’s findings and set out a renewed commitment to improving delivery. The response focuses on six key areas that will shape future expectations.

Improving Understanding, Acceptance and Accessibility

There is a renewed emphasis on autism awareness and competence across the workforce. Mandatory training for staff who work with autistic people remains central, including continued rollout of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training.

For providers, this means training is no longer about attendance alone. Inspectors and commissioners will expect to see how learning is applied in practice.

Identification, Assessment and Support

The government has acknowledged that reliance on diagnosis alone is creating unacceptable delays. There is a shift towards providing support based on need, rather than waiting for formal diagnosis.

Care providers will increasingly be expected to adapt care and make reasonable adjustments even where an individual does not yet have a diagnosis.

Reducing Health Inequalities

Autistic people experience significantly poorer health outcomes. The response reinforces the importance of annual health checks, reasonable adjustments, and learning from LeDeR reviews where people have learning disabilities and autistic people have died prematurely.

Providers must be able to show how they identify risk, reduce inequalities, and learn from adverse events.

Education and Transitions

Poor transitions from children’s to adult services remain a major concern. The government has committed to improving planning and integration across systems.

Adult providers should expect increased scrutiny around how they support people entering services and how continuity of care is maintained.

Employment

Employment outcomes for autistic people remain low. The government response reinforces expectations around reasonable adjustments, inclusive workplaces, and support into employment.

Providers employing autistic staff will need to evidence how adjustments are identified and implemented.

Criminal Justice

Improved identification and support for autistic people within the justice system will require better information sharing and staff training, including in custodial and community settings.

What This Means for Care and Support Providers

For care business owners and managers, the direction of travel is clear. Autism-informed care is no longer a specialist add-on. It is becoming a core expectation.

This means:

• Greater focus on staff competence and confidence
• Increased scrutiny of care planning and communication
• Stronger expectations around leadership understanding
• Clear governance arrangements to monitor quality and outcomes

Services that cannot evidence how they meet the needs of autistic people risk falling short of regulatory expectations.

What CQC Will Expect to See

Although the Autism Act itself is not inspected against directly, its principles sit firmly within the CQC framework.

Inspectors are likely to explore:

• Regulation 9 (Person-centred care): Are care plans genuinely reflective of sensory needs, communication preferences, and individual triggers?
• Regulation 10 (Dignity and respect): Are reasonable adjustments made to protect autonomy and reduce distress?
• Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment): Are risks understood and mitigated in autism-informed ways?
• Regulation 18 (Staffing and training): Are staff trained, supervised, and supported to work effectively with autistic people?
• Regulation 17 (Governance): Is there oversight, auditing, learning, and leadership accountability?

Inspectors will not only ask what training staff have completed, but how practice has changed as a result.

Preparing Your Service: Practical Steps

Care providers can take action now by:

• Reviewing autism and MCA training records
• Auditing care plans for autistic people
• Assessing sensory environments and reasonable adjustments
• Updating policies linked to communication, complaints, and safeguarding
• Ensuring managers understand their leadership role in embedding good practice

Preparation is not about perfection, but about awareness, learning, and improvement.

Risks of Not Preparing

Failing to respond to these developments can lead to:

• Increased inspection risk
• Poor outcomes for people supported
• Safeguarding concerns
• Workforce stress and low confidence
• Reputational damage

How LSW Care Solutions Can Support

At LSW Care Solutions, we work with care providers to turn policy into practice.

We can support you with:

• Autism-informed service and care plan reviews
• Policy and procedure audits aligned to CQC expectations
• Leadership and governance support
• Training and quality improvement planning

Our focus is on helping services deliver safe, respectful, and compliant care while supporting positive outcomes for autistic people.

Conclusion

The government response to the Autism Act review makes one thing clear. Delivery matters. Expectations on care providers are increasing, and autism-informed practice is becoming a core measure of quality.

Preparing now will help your service stay compliant, confident, and responsive.

You can read the full Policy Paper ” Government response to Lords Select Committee’s report Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy”